02/May/2024
Indigenous Peoples of Brazil met with over a dozen of Brasilia’s ambassadors to call on governments to support their agenda towards COP30 with swift action to stop deforestation and violence in indigenous lands.
April, 2024.- Brazil’s indigenous movement is seeking multiple pathways to ensure the upcoming COP30 can be marked by action in the territories. In a meeting with over a dozen embassies, they asked governments to commit to halting their countries’ extractive activities in indigenous lands. As the country gears up to host the upcoming COP30, there is a need to match discourse with on the ground action, according to the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB).
During the meeting, leaders from all biomes of Brazil stated the links between land invasion and foreign interest, particularly highlighting the violence communities experience due to displacement and confrontations with invaders and corporations.
“Don’t receive soy exports that are linked to indigenous blood. If a product is coming from our lands, it is the result of a direct attack on us and is tainted by violence”, said Norivaldo Mendes, from the Guarani Kaiowa people and Executive Coordinator to Aty Guasu and APIB. “Corporations won’t tell you where the soy comes from because they don’t want to lose all the resources our land provides them”, he finished.
The delegation met with representatives from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the United States, France, Italy, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the Brazilian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Indigenous Peoples. This marks the first time the APIB hosts a single meeting with a diplomatic body of this calibre.
Among the petitions from the indigenous leadership, they called on these governments to support effective Indigenous participation in COP30 and to include concrete goals for demarcating Indigenous Lands in the upcoming update of the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); to implement direct financing to Indigenous organisations by adapting their operations, monitoring and evaluation instruments; and to prioritise a new vision on infrastructure that respects Free, Prior, Informed Consent and that does not impact Indigenous Lands – explicit demanding no mineral or oil exploitation in their territories.
The ambassadors heard a call for them to hold companies accountable for damage incurred against nature and the inhabitants of the regions in which they operate; and to commit to not financing or supporting projects that are characterised as greenwashing.
“We want to push for traceability of the commodities sold to the European Union and big economies of the Global North, because then you will be able to see why we are constantly calling out violent land grabbing attacks” said Dinamam Tuxa, Executive Coordinator to APIB.
The leadership also pushed a debate on mining expansion as a response to the climate crisis and a proposal for “sustainable” development. “There is no point in coming to Brazil to look for what has already been used up in your countries”, said Executive Coordinator Kreta Kaingang, speaking on fossil fuel and mining projects. “We are not against development, but we cannot accept development that is based on the death of our people”, he added.
The Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) leadership joined Brazilian Indigenous authorities for the meeting, as part of their participation in the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre – ATL) to advance a joint agenda towards COP30 and call on other stakeholders to join their efforts. Their presence showcased the articulation between Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities worldwide.
“On behalf of the Indigenous Peoples of our alliance, we want governments to join us to make COP30 a historic turning point in how the world confronts the climate crisis. If we don’t come together, we might have to sit down to write the history book on how humanity failed to live with Mother Earth”, said Rukka Sombolinggi, in representation of the Indigenous Peoples of Indonesia and the GATC.
Representatives from the embassies acknowledged the guardianship role Indigenous Peoples carry in their territories and pledged to continue on dialogues with APIB in the route to COP30. Moreover, they spoke of their standing projects and the will to continue investing and connecting with the communities. Many promised to work both with indigenous organisations and the Brazilian government to accelerate the demarcation and effective protection of indigenous lands, guaranteeing the autonomy of the people, and strengthening territorial governance.
02/May/2024
Indigenous land titling in Brazil has fallen behind as president Lula had promised to complete 14 processes in his first 100 days of government, but had only titled 10 in over a year in power.
April, 2024.- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with a delegation of 40 indigenous leaders from across Brazil last Thursday (25) afternoon at the Palácio do Planalto. The gathering, which took place during the 20th edition of the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre ATL)- the largest indigenous mobilisation in the country- concluded with the creation of a Task Force to advance land titling.
The meeting followed a massive march where eight thousands of Indigenous Peoples and Civil Society Movements filled the city’s central area with echoing chants and energetic calls for the government to advance land titling and stop large projects that pose threats to their territories. The rally ended at the Praça dos Três Poderes, where groups of indigenous organisations continued on with their protest as the meeting took place.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) had been denouncing the government’s failed promise to title 14 indigenous lands in the first 100 days of Lula’s government. In over a year they had titled 10 of those lands, whilst many others awaited. Moreover, they raised alarms as Congress debated passing a law that could severely limit their rights to land, the Time Frame Law (Marco Temporal).
“In our understanding, there is no legal impediment to land titling. What there is is a political impediment, which we hope will be resolved with this task force, which is a demand from the indigenous movement, so that we can actually unblock land demarcations. Not only of the four lands, not only of the 25 lands with declaratory ordinances [already signed], but so that, once and for all, we can overcome administrative and political issues for demarcating indigenous lands in the country,” said Dinamam Tuxá, a Executive Coordinator to APIB.
Responding to the primary demands of APIB, the government announced the establishment of a governmental task force aimed at unlocking pending land titling processes awaiting presidential approval. Priority will be given to four key areas–including the Xukuru e Morro dos Cavalos- each mired in disputes awaiting resolution.
The task force, chaired by Minister Guajajara, will collaborate with key governmental bodies, including the Office of the Presidency, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU), and the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai).
Indigenous movement mobilised against a bill that severely hinders their rights and projects harding their territories
During the 20th edition of the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre), Indigenous Peoples took over Brasilia’s streets with over 8,000 thousand peoples from over 200 distinct indigenous ethnic groups. In their chants, they argued against the Time Frame Thesis (Marco Temporal) and large projects like the Ferrogrão which threaten their rights and territories.
The “Time Frame thesis” is a legal concept asserting that Indigenous peoples are entitled to claim only the lands they inhabited exactly on October 5, 1988, the date of Brazil’s Constitution promulgation. The proposition does not acknowledge the centuries old history of Indigenous Peoples of the country and does not account for the forced displacement they suffered during Brazil’s dictatorship in the 20th century. As a response, the indigenous movement united under the “Our time frame is ancestral” argument.
Indigenous leaders walked through Brasilia next to a large truck that was wrapped to simulate a “train of death”, signalling their opposition to the Ferrogão railing project. The new train route would cut through sacred indigenous lands in the Amazon to facilitate soy exports. Monoculture of soy is one of the leading causes of deforestation and land grabbing, and the train would only aggravate the circumstances.
20/Apr/2024
Photos: Sheyden/ @1sheyden
The largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil will take place from April 22nd to 26th in Brasília (DF).
The theme “Our existence is ancestral. We’ve always been here” marks the 20th edition of the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre – ATL), which will be held from April 22nd to 26th at the National Arts Foundation (Funarte) in Brasília (DF). ATL 2024 takes place after the overturning of the Time Frame in the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the approval of law no. 14,701/2023, which legalized the thesis and various crimes against indigenous peoples last year.
“We continue mobilized and in the fight. ATL is the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil and the expectation is that ATL 2024 will be the most participatory in history, both in terms of the number of people and the representation of peoples. It’s time for us to come together in assemblies and discuss the next steps,” says Kleber Karipuna, executive coordinator of Apib.
The Free Land Camp is organized by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) and its seven regional grassroots organizations: Apoinme, ArpinSudeste, ArpinSul, Aty Guasu, Terena Council, Coaib, and Guarani Yvyrupa Commission.
Indigenous Emergency
The confrontation against the Time Frame thesis is one of the central themes of ATL, as violence against indigenous peoples has intensified. According to data collected by the Protect Collective, in the first month after the approval of Law No. 14,701, six indigenous leaders were assassinated in the country. This data covers the period from December 14, 2023 – the date the law came into effect – to January 21, 2024. During the same period, 13 conflicts were also mapped in territories located in seven states.
One of the assassinations was that of the pajé Nega Pataxó, from the Hã-Hã-Hãe people, during a criminal action by the Military Police of the State of Bahia with the “Zero Invasion” group. The local leader was killed during the retaking of the Caramuru-Paraguaçu territory, in the municipality of Potiraguá.
Apib asserts that Law No. 14,701 represents an action of genocide of indigenous peoples, as the constant violence in the territories is a result of the legalization of the time frame, approved in 2023 by the ruralist caucus of the National Congress, which has promoted various attacks against the rights of indigenous peoples. According to the Articulation, the halt in the demarcation of indigenous lands also exacerbates this scenario of violence.
In 2022, the final report of the Indigenous Peoples Working Group of the Transition Office, of which Apib was a part and coordinated, presented to the Lula Government 14 indigenous lands that were ready to have their demarcations ratified in the first 100 days of the government. However, throughout 2023, only 8 ancestral territories were demarcated by President Lula.
“In terms of demarcation, monitoring, and territorial protection, much remains to be done in the current government,” says Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of Apib.
Mental health
Another theme that will gain prominence in the program is about suicide among indigenous peoples. A study conducted by researchers from the Harvard Medical School (USA) and Cidacs/Fiocruz Bahia (Center for Data Integration and Knowledge for Health of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) pointed out that the indigenous population leads the rates of suicide and self-harm in Brazil, but has fewer hospitalizations. According to the study, this reveals the precariousness of medical care and mental health support for indigenous families. The research was conducted with data from 2011 to 2022 and published in the journal The Lancet.
As a result, leaders express concern about the mental health of indigenous peoples, especially those facing invasions in their territories and fighting for their rights.
“It’s suffocating to see this. For over 500 years, we have fought for our lives and territories, but violence against us was legalized last year with the approval of the genocide law. That’s why the temporal framework is the main theme and debate of ATL 2024. Brazil is Indigenous Land and the camp will further highlight this,” says Tuxá.
Event program
The Terra Livre Camp program was developed in collaboration with Apib’s grassroots organizations and can be found in here. The ATL program includes the nationwide pre-ATL activities as part of the “Indigenous April” and “Red April” mobilization.
Additionally, this year the visual identity of ATL was produced with the support of indigenous artist Denilson Baniwa. He, who is also responsible for the conceptualization of the logo of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, provided Apib with a collection of paintings that were used in the creation of visual elements.
Among the paintings, the highlight in the visual identity is the artwork “Cobra do Tempo” (Time Snake), which now features the colors of urucum red, jenipapo black, and raw cotton, marking the 20 years of the Terra Livre Camp and highlighting the history and path of Brazil’s indigenous peoples.
In 2023, around six thousand indigenous people from approximately 180 tribes participated in the 19th edition of the ATL. “Indigenous Future begins now. Without demarcation, there is no democracy!” was the motto of the last mobilization, which marked the resumption of Indigenous Land demarcations after six years of policy paralysis.
