Khalil Rahman Ali

Daughter of the Great River is a story based on the struggles of INDIGENOUS PEOPLES in the fictional country of Kayana, 'Land of Many Waters'. Onida is the eponymous Daughter of the Great River who emerged more than five hundred years after HER ANCESTORS WERE BRUTALLY SUPPRESSED by invading Europeans and were forced to flee to the safety of the rainforests of Kayana. Her tribe of Kayanese is made up of several Indigenous Peoples who prefer to live in the hinterland of Kayana's vast rainforests. She is the 'chosen one' to lead her peoples out of their challenging circumstances where the natural resources of GOLD AND TIMBER ARE BEING EXPLOITED by local and foreign interests. Within the world s current population of 7.8 billion people, there are an estimated 370 TO 500 MILLION OF INDIGENOUS ORIGIN. They are defined as having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and precolonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves as distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories (United Nations). THEY CONTINUE TO SUFFER from disproportionately high rates of poverty, health problems, crime and human rights abuses (UN).