Wednesday, March 27

It’s our land, too: Brazil’s Indigenous peoples make their voices heard | indigenous peoples


A multitude of sounds and tones echoing local chants; vibrant face paints with colors and tracery from the red of the urucum shrub and the black of genipap tree fruit; the strong and coordinated movements of magical dances: the annual Free Land Camp brought Indigenous peoples from across Brazil to its capital earlier this month.

Under the title Retaking Brazil: demarcate the territories and indigenise the politicsthe 18th Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre, also known as ATL in Portuguese) saw 8,000 Indigenous people in Brasília give voice to the ongoing fight to save their culture and way of life.

Joênia Wapichana, the country’s first Indigenous congresswoman, said: “The ATL is an opportunity to unite Indigenous and Brazilian leaders from across the country to stand up for their constitutional rights.” They protested against what activists have called a “death combo” of environment-related bills being considered by congress. These include the PL 191 billwhich aims to open Indigenous lands to mining and other commercial exploitation, and PL 490, which would change the rules on demarcation of Indigenous territory.

Prominent female indigenous leaders Maial Payakan, Sônia Guajajara, Célia Xakriabá, Braulina Baniwa and others join a march in Brasília during the Free Land Camp to protest against Bolsonaro's anti-Indigenous agenda.

  • Prominent female indigenous leaders Maial Payakan, Sônia Guajajara, Célia Xakriabá, Braulina Baniwa and others join a march in Brasília during the Free Land Camp to protest against Bolsonaro’s anti-Indigenous agenda

The Guardian ATL 2022-08 Joênia Wapichana, Brazil's first indigenous lawyer and the first indigenous woman elected to the national Congress, is pictured at the Free Land Camp in Brasília, Brazil.
Puyr Tembé, leader of the Tembé people and co-founder of ANMIGA (The National Articulation of Indigenous Women Ancestrality Warriors), is pictured at the Free Land Camp in Brasília, Brazil.

  • Joênia Wapichana, left, Brazil’s first Indigenous congresswoman, and Puyr Tembé, right, of the Tembé people called for unified action

The 10-day camp, the largest gathering of Indigenous people in the world, according to The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), included a multitude of Indigenous ethnicities – Pataxós, Kayapó, Munduruku, Yanomami, Xikrin and another 195 peoples from across Brazil. This year, with a general election due in October, the Free Land Camp was a concerted effort to fight back against the anti-Indigenous policies of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.

“Indigenous people have constantly been the subject of discussions and deliberations without proper participation,” said Wapichana. “At this specific moment, this gathering is even more important considering that we have a government that is anti-Indigenous, fascist, anti-environmentalist and anti-human rights. I see myself as a spokesperson who will take the Indigenous voice further, to fight for the defense of our rights so that we prevent further violations. It is also incredibly important to raise more sympathy and empathy among politicians in congress, who represent Brazilian society.”

Angohó Pataxó sits covered in a mixture of mud and clay to protest her relative's murder in Brasília 25 years ago for protecting his people's territory

  • ‘Today we are here resisting in order to exist,’ said Angohó Pataxó, whose relative was murdered in Brasília 25 years ago for protecting his people’s territory

Indigenous people march in a procession called 'Ouro de Sangue' (Gold of Blood) to protest against Bolsonaro's policies.
An installation made of clay, representing toxic mud from mining, and red ink, representing spilled Indigenous blood, stands outside the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Brasília

  • Indigenous people march in a procession called ‘Ouro de Sangue’ (Gold of Blood) to protest against Bolsonaro’s policies. An installation made of clay, representing toxic mud from mining, and red ink, representing spilled Indigenous blood, outside the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Brasília

In April 1997, Brasília was the site of the brutal murder of Galdino Pataxó, an Indigenous leader of the Pataxó-Hã-Hã-Hãe people who was burned to death after demanding the demarcation of his people’s territory. Twenty-five years later, Ãngoho Pataxó, a relative and leader of the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe people at Katurama village, attended the Free Land Camp to highlight continuing rights violations perpetrated by the government and mining companies against her people and territory.

“Today we are here resisting in order to exist,” she said. “We are here demanding justice for my relative’s death. But we are also here showing our resistance to extractivism, we are here demanding our land rights on ancestral lands, we are here fighting for our lives and the right of us, women, to have our place and space recognised.”

Alice Pataxó, an indigenous communicator and environmental activist
An indigenous man marches with his daughter on his shoulders.

  • Alice Pataxó, an environmental activist, and an Indigenous man marches with his daughter at the Free Land Camp

Puyr Tembé, of the Tembé people in Pará state, reminded the gathering of the importance of unity. “After two years without an in-person Free Land Camp due to the pandemic, we come to this 18th edition filled with strength, bravery and resistance to not just fight and defend our rights, but also to celebrate and reconnect.

“For the sake of future generations and our wellbeing we are inspired every day to keep fighting. The expectation we have is that [we can] bring some change. More and more I believe that the Indigenous people are aware that this change is possible if we are unified.”

Wapichana added: “As an Indigenous woman in congress, it is fundamental to me that I represent the voices of other female warriors, considering the collective Indigenous rights and interests while focusing on specific agendas for women. Showing that we are capable, that we are fully capable of performing our professions and occupying positions of power is extremely important to me.”

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