Maial is the granddaughter of Chief Raoni Metuktire, one of the best-known indigenous leaders in the world, and the daughter of Paulinho Paiakan, a historic leader of her people who fought for the inclusion of indigenous rights in the 1988 Constitution. She was the first Kayapó to graduate in law and launched herself into politics, inaugurating a new front in the battle for indigenous rights and the protection of the forest.
