Bárbara Nascimento Flores Borum-Kren

Life Sciences

Yáma M’Bok Borum-Kren (Bárbara Nascimento Flores) is a scientist whose roots trace back to the riverbanks of Uaimií, Uatu, and Paraopeba. She weaves together ancestral heritage, academic inquiry, and advocacy for socio-environmental justice.

As a leading voice of the Borum-Kren nation, she researches how the return of Indigenous peoples to their territories can trigger far-reaching socioecological cascades—chains of regeneration that restore landscapes, memory, lifeways, and cosmologies.

Flores holds a degree in tourism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais and completed her master’s and Ph.D. in development and the environment at the State University of Santa Cruz in Bahia. During her postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado, she founded the Center Wayrakuna of Indigenous Ancestral Sciences to connect Indigenous scholars across the Americas.

Despite her activism, research, and writing, Flores sets aside time for aerial dance, embracing it as a form of resistance and a celebration of her ancestors and identity.

Site
LattesORCID

Open Calls

Joint call 3 to support Black and Indigenous ecology postdocs
Array
(
    [0] => WP_Post Object
        (
            [ID] => 15391
            [post_author] => 10
            [post_date] => 2025-09-09 15:07:51
            [post_date_gmt] => 2025-09-09 15:07:51
            [post_content] => The science of Yáma M’Bok Borum-Kren, also known as Bárbara Nascimento Flores, was born on the banks of the Uaimií, Uatu, and Paraopeba rivers, and combines ancestry, academic research, and the fight for socio-environmental justice.

A leader of the Borum-Kren people, the scientist studies how the reterritorialization of indigenous peoples can cause socioecological cascades: regenerative waves that restore not only the environment, but also memories, ways of life, and entire cosmologies.

With a degree in tourism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, the scientist also holds a master's and doctorate in development and the environment from the State University of Santa Cruz, in Bahia. Combining science and activism, Flores founded the Center Wayrakuna of Indigenous Ancestral Sciences during her postdoctoral studies at the University of Colorado, which connects indigenous scientists from across the American continent.

In the few hours left between activism, science, and motherhood, the scientist reserves time to dance in the air. Flores practices aerial dance as an expression of resistance and celebration of her ancestry.

 
            [post_title] => In what ways might the resurgence of the Borum-Kren people contribute to the revitalization of biocultural memory and trigger socioecological cascades in the Uaimií Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil?
            [post_excerpt] => 
            [post_status] => publish
            [comment_status] => closed
            [ping_status] => closed
            [post_password] => 
            [post_name] => in-what-ways-might-the-resurgence-of-the-borum-kren-people-contribute-to-the-revitalization-of-biocultural-memory-and-trigger-socioecological-cascades-in-the-uaimii-valley-minas-gerais-brazil
            [to_ping] => 
            [pinged] => 
            [post_modified] => 2026-02-12 14:57:09
            [post_modified_gmt] => 2026-02-12 14:57:09
            [post_content_filtered] => 
            [post_parent] => 0
            [guid] => https://serrapilheira.org/?post_type=projeto&p=15391
            [menu_order] => 0
            [post_type] => projeto
            [post_mime_type] => 
            [comment_count] => 0
            [filter] => raw
        )

)

Projects

In what ways might the resurgence of the Borum-Kren people contribute to the revitalization of biocultural memory and trigger socioecological cascades in the Uaimií Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil?
Science / Life Sciences

The science of Yáma M’Bok Borum-Kren, also known as Bárbara Nascimento Flores, was born on the banks of the Uaimií, Uatu, and Paraopeba rivers, and combines ancestry, academic research, and the fight for socio-environmental justice.

A leader of the Borum-Kren people, the scientist studies how the reterritorialization of indigenous peoples can cause socioecological cascades: regenerative waves that restore not only the environment, but also memories, ways of life, and entire cosmologies.

With a degree in tourism from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, the scientist also holds a master’s and doctorate in development and the environment from the State University of Santa Cruz, in Bahia. Combining science and activism, Flores founded the Center Wayrakuna of Indigenous Ancestral Sciences during her postdoctoral studies at the University of Colorado, which connects indigenous scientists from across the American continent.

In the few hours left between activism, science, and motherhood, the scientist reserves time to dance in the air. Flores practices aerial dance as an expression of resistance and celebration of her ancestry.

 

Amount invested

Grant 2024: R$ 100.000,00
Grant 2025 Serrapilheira and FAPESB: R$517.000,00

Institutions

  • Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz