The trial for the Time Frame Thesis scheduled for September 20th in the Supreme Federal Court could determine the future of Indigenous Lands in Brazilian territory and mark a turning point for the global climate. The Indigenous movement is mobilizing throughout Brazil and is sending an Indigenous commission from Apib to New York for the Climate Week. The goal is to strengthen international mobilization in defense of the right to Indigenous Lands.
The threat to Indigenous Lands is a climate threat to all of humanity.
We are of the Earth, and the Earth is within us. If the Earth dies, we -as Indigenous peoples- die.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) is calling for various mobilizations across Brazil this week and is participating in the New York Climate Week to raise awareness about the risks posed by the upcoming vote on the Time Frame Thesis (Marco Temporal), which is scheduled on September 20th. The Supreme Court of Brazil will vote on the legitimacy of a legal thesis promoted by the Brazilian agribusiness sector, which proposes to review the demarcation process of Indigenous lands, and this could directly impact the global climate crisis.
The Time Frame Thesis proposes that only Indigenous peoples who can prove they were living on their lands in 1988, the same year the Federal Constitution was promulgated, can have rights to those lands. This denies the forced evictions of hundreds of communities that could only begin to claim their ancestral lands after Brazil’s redemocratization in the late 1980s.
This week marks the 15th edition of Climate Week in New York, from September 17th to 24th, and the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, from September 19th to 23rd, which will open with the speech by President Lula. In light of these events, a group of 10 Indigenous leaders is in New York to participate in activities during Climate Week. The goal is to internationally alert about the threat that the Time Frame Thesis represents to the lives of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and to the global climate crisis, as Indigenous Lands serve as a life reserve for the entire planet.
Apib and its regional organizations are strengthening mobilizations in Indigenous territories, cities, and especially in the capital, Brasilia, against the approval of the Marco Temporal thesis, which will be voted on September 20th. The proposal is to closely follow the trial and strengthen the next steps in the Indigenous movement’s struggle. Apib organized over 220 demonstrations in 21 states, including the Federal District, in May and June.
There are still five Supreme Federal Court justices left to vote in the trial. So far, there are four votes against the Time Frame Thesis and two in favor. Justices Edson Fachin, Alexandre de Moraes, Cristiano Zanin, and Luís Roberto Barroso have expressed opposition to the ruralist thesis. The only votes in favor of the anti-Indigenous proposal come from justices appointed by former President Jair Bolsonaro, André Mendonça and Nunes Marques.
On the same day as the Supreme Court vote, the Brazilian Senate is attempting to include in its agenda the project to turn the Time Frame Thesis into law. Ruralist senators seek to create a conflict and confrontation with the Brazilian judiciary in case the Supreme Court annuls the Time Frame Thesis.
In addition to the Time Frame Thesis, another proposal (PL 2903) is currently under consideration, which proposes further setbacks in the rights of Indigenous peoples, such as the construction of roads and hydroelectric plants in Indigenous territories without free, prior, and informed consent of the affected communities. The proposal also aims to allow farmers to sign production contracts with Indigenous people, violating the rights of Indigenous peoples to the exclusive use of demarcated lands.
While some falsely claim that “there is plenty of land for few Indigenous people in Brazil,” Apib argues the opposite, stating that there is plenty of land for few large landowners, and that agribusiness promotes the illegal invasion of Indigenous lands. The organization asserts, “there is no solution to the climate crisis without guaranteeing the rights of Indigenous peoples and the demarcation of their territories.”
Currently, nearly half of Brazil’s land is in the hands of rural producers. According to data published in Brazilian Diario Oficial da União, 41% of the total land in the country is rural properties, 13.7% is Indigenous lands, and 45.2% is designated for other purposes. Indigenous Lands represent a guarantee of life for Indigenous peoples and for all of humanity that depends on the future climate.
The Time Frame Thesis is a modern colonization strategy. “The future of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples is in grave danger, which can affect all of humanity, as it has been shown that Indigenous peoples, thanks to our ways of life, are guardians of nature and, therefore, of the global climate balance,” says Apib’s executive coordinator, Dinamam Tuxá. While 29% of the surrounding territory of Indigenous Lands is deforested, the deforestation rate within Indigenous Territories is only 2%, according to data collected in September 2022 by Apib and the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM). According to this study, most of the degradation is the result of illegal actions funded by agribusiness sectors, such as soybean plantations and extensive livestock farming. Similarly, scientists emphasize the importance of Indigenous Territories, where biodiversity is considerably higher than in the rest of the national territory.
Currently, the Supreme Federal Court is adjudicating a proposal that seeks to change the demarcation process of Indigenous Territories in Brazil through the Time Frame Thesis. At the same time, the National Congress is trying to turn the Time Frame Thesis into law and legalize crimes that promote Indigenous genocide and environmental destruction. But who is financing this threatening scenario? National and foreign companies such as Bunge, Xp, Kinea, Bradesco, Ducoco, Groupe Lactalis, among others, as well as international banks and investment funds, contribute to Brazilian agribusiness, which would be the main beneficiary if the Marco Temporal were approved, as recent reports from De Olho nos Ruralistas show.
A few farmers and entrepreneurs benefit from the profit of agribusiness at the expense of the lives of Indigenous peoples and the global climate balance. Illegal land invasions, assassinations of leaders and activists, and violence resulting from land disputes have increased in recent years. Allowing the occupation of Indigenous lands for the enrichment of a few is a modern form of colonization in which settlers seek to take over more and more hectares of national territory.
The Time Frame proposal exists as a consequence of the economic and political power of agribusiness. If approved, crimes will increase, and agricultural and natural resource extraction will intensify. The first to pay this bill will be Indigenous peoples. “Those responsible for continuing Indigenous genocide and worsening the climate crisis will be marked in history. Many will be accomplices of the new colonialism that threatens the survival of us, Indigenous peoples who inhabit the vast territory called Brazil, and the future of all humanity, because there is no solution to the climate crisis without the participation of Indigenous peoples,” emphasizes Dinamam Tuxá.
Relevant activities of Apib during the 15th edition of Climate Week from September 17th to 24th:
Apib participated on September 17th in the Climate Week March on the streets of New York in support of the Fight Fossil Fuel Strike. The indigenous delegation of Apib denounced the threat posed by the Time Frame Thesis, and they emphasized the indigenous emergency situation regarding extractive industries and agribusiness that cause multiple instances of violence in our territories. In addition, among the activities that make up the Climate Week agenda, it is worth noting that the executive coordinators Kleber Karipuna, Dinamam Tuxá, and other members of the indigenous delegation will participate on Tuesday 19th, in the talk “FCLP: Rights, Participation and Benefits for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Forest Climate Financing” organized by the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership organizations. On September 22nd, a portion of the delegation will be present at the dialogue co-organized with H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, the current president of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, to assess progress in the COP28 agenda with the aim of collectively identifying meaningful and respectful ways of involving Indigenous Peoples in the COP.
Please see photos and videos of the March and other events on the Climate Week agenda where the Apib delegation was present:
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) is a national reference body of the indigenous movement in Brazil, created from the bottom up. It brings together seven regional indigenous organizations (Apoinme, ArpinSudeste, ArpinSul, Aty Guasu, Terena Council, Coaib, and Guarani Yvyrupa Commission) and was born with the purpose of strengthening the unity of our peoples, fostering coordination among different regions and indigenous organizations in the country, as well as mobilizing indigenous peoples and organizations against threats and violations of indigenous rights.
The organization highlights the need for Amazonian countries to have defined actions involving the demarcation of indigenous lands, titling of quilombola territories and the creation of protected areas.
The eight presidents of the member states of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) signed last Tuesday, August 8th, the Letter of Belém . The Letter is the main document of the Amazon Summit, which ends this Wednesday (09/08), in the capital of Pará. The Articulação of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), a national organization of reference of the indigenous movement, considers the Letter of Belém frustrating and demands concrete goals for the demarcation of indigenous lands.
“The document should be more ambitious. We understand there is a diversity of perspectives involving eight countries, and we recognize that political commitments were made, but the absence of specific and objective goals related to indigenous peoples and the environment is frustrating”, says Kleber Karipuna, executive coordinator of Apib.
Among the demands, Apib highlights the need for the Governments to define actions to address the point of no return in the Amazon (a term used by specialists to refer to the point at which the forest loses its ability to regenerate itself), which involves the demarcation of indigenous lands, titling of quilombola territories and the creation of protected areas. In addition to the monitoring and protection of territories and policies to support the sustainable use of those territories.
The indigenous movement also considers as disappointing the suspension of the announcement of demarcation of two indigenous lands during the Amazon Summit, as reported in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo . According to the report, the territories to be demarcated would be the Rio Gregório Indigenous territory, in Tarauacá (AC), and Acapuri de Cima, in Fonte Boa (AM). They are part of a list of 13 indigenous lands that are ready to be homologated , which was presented by the working group of Indigenous Peoples of the Transitional Government, of which Apib was part.
“The Government included the homologation of these 13 territories as part of the goals of the first 100 days of government. This goal was not met and, for the Summit, there was an expectation that other territories would be announced. The delay in this process has concrete Impacts on the indigenous peoples who are dealing with violence on a daily basis ”, emphasizes Dinamam Tuxá, who is also the executive coordinator of Apib.
Assembly of the Peoples of the Earth for the Amazon
Indigenous leaders from Apib and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) were in Belém for the Assembly of Peoples of the Earth for the Amazon , held between August 4th and 8th.
The Assembly was part of the political efforts of the indigenous movement to influence the IV Meeting of Presidents of the Signatory States of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), Amazon Dialogues and the Amazon Summit.
During the Assembly, protection policies for isolated peoples were discussed, threats of exploitation by large mining companies and the oil industry, demarcation of ancestral territories, in addition to the resumption of the “time frame” case in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) (This would deny the claims of Indigenous communities to their territories if the communities cannot show that they were present on their lands when the 1988 Constitution was enacted).
On August 7, indigenous organizations in the Amazon published a document, “Letter from the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin to Presidents” . Delivered to the Amazonian presidents, the letter highlights the importance of dialoguing with the Indigenous movement to stop and solve the global climate crisis.
“Without us, there will be no Amazon; and, without it, the world as we know it will no longer exist. Because we are the Amazon: its land and biodiversity are our body; its rivers flow in our veins. Our ancestors not only preserved it for millennia, but also helped to cultivate it”, says an excerpt from the document.
The European Parliament voted yesterday, September 13th, on the draft law for Forest and ecosystem-risk commodities regulation (FERC). Among the results of the debate, the inclusion of respect for international agreements and treaties on the rights of indigenous peoples stands out, as APIB had been defending since the beginning of the proposal of this legislation. However, another of APIB’s main demands, which was the protection of all ecosystems, regardless of the definition of forest cover, was not included.
The FERC law, also known as the deforestation-free products law, will include measures that oblige companies producing commodities to respect international human rights legislation, which includes guaranteeing the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), meeting yesterday (13) in Strasbourg, France, voted on the draft law and reviewed the suggested changes. Among the proposals accepted by the MEPs, there is the prerequisite that Indigenous Peoples have guaranteed access to free, prior and informed consultation on the production of commodities, as advocated by Convention No. 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO). No product may be imported into the European Union without the responsible company obtaining the consent of the affected Indigenous Peoples to install a commodity production activity close to their lands.
Another of the accepted proposals was the revision of the law annually (every year), instead of every two years as was initially foreseen. MEPs did not give in to pressure from business lobbies and leather was included in the group of commodities regulated by the regulation for deforestation-free products. This implies a major victory, as leather is one of the main products potentially responsible for deforestation imported by the European Union. In addition to all commodities considered by the first law proposal -beef, palm oil, soy, wood, coffee and derivatives (such as chocolate and furniture)- the regulation voted today also considers the traceability of deforestation in the pork, sheep, goat and poultry meat, as well as corn, rubber and paper products.
The European Parliament is aware that the creation of a law for deforestation-free products in European Union countries will not end deforestation. Commodities with a forestry risk that can be sold in markets other than the European one. Then, the European Parliament proposes a cooperation program between countries to apply measures to stop forest destruction. The MEPs proposed that the European Commission be responsible for drawing up maps that identify countries with high deforestation risks, in order to support international cooperation programs. Likewise, they insisted on the need for good governance within the affected countries by deforestation, as well as the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples, traditional populations and other people who depend on nature.
Parliament requested assistance so that small producers can comply with the rules established by the FERC law, among which they highlight, for example, the need for geolocation traceability of products. It is fair and necessary to build partnership and cooperation programs to help small producers make a transition to sustainable agricultural and livestock production.
In addition, the legislation will include access to independent and impartial justice bodies to oversee the impacts of deforestation caused by commodity production, but only on an administrative basis. Companies cannot be directly prosecuted by penal or criminal law through the mechanisms established by FERC. Furthermore, the Euro-parliamentarians rejected the request to include in the anti-deforestation law the need for compensation mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples affected by commodity production chains.
“What this law needs is to be stricter in the traceability of these products. Indigenous Peoples are not looking for compensation, we wantmeasures to avoid the impacts and, in case of illegalities, criminal prosecution for companies and not only administrative penalisations”, explains Dinamam Tuxá, APIB coordinator.
Another of the most important demands that was left out was the protection of all ecosystemes – regardless of the FAO definition of forests applied in the FERC law. “In addition to what this law recognized, we would like a much more ambitious regulation, recognizing and protecting other ecosystems for the guarantee and protection of these territories also under threat from the advance of agribusiness”, says Tuxá. “We understand that the non-recognition of other ecosystems within this law will put even more pressure on deforestation outside the Amazon forests. This brings us concern because these are productive areas that are already in a lot of conflict and that, in many places in Brazil, agribusiness have drastically advanced over indigenous territories”. Protecting only some natural areas opens a gap for commodity production chains to be moved from one region to another without solving the deforestation problem. APIB insists on the need to review this point in the coming months of debate before final approval of the text.
The result of the vote was the last step in the elaboration of the text of the FERC law which was presented to the European Parliament in November 2021. However, the legislation can still undergo changes, as a result of negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. This process, known as “trilogs”, aims to conclude a final version of the legislation by the end of the year 2022, approximately. Only after the final approval by all member states of the European Parliament, the law can come into force.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) promotes a campaign to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples in the FERC regulation, which will be voted on by the European Parliament on September 13th. With the campaign named “We are all ecosystems” (Somos Todos Biomas), the organization also seeks to include all Brazilian ecosystems in the new legislation.
The FERC law provides sanctions to minimize the risk of deforestation and forest degradation associated with products placed on the EU market. However, the definition of forest defined by FAO and considered by the legislation is very reduced and excludes a good part of biomes and natural areas, which would be left out of protection. Increasing the traceability of production chains only in some biomes announces a threat of displacement and intensification of commodity production in the unsupervised natural areas, which historically have already suffered such pressure.
In the case of Brazil, if the law is applied according to the current proposal, the Amazon forest would be the only biome with the largest protected forest area (84%) from the threats of illegal deforestation for the production of commodities, followed by the Atlantic Forest, Mata Atlántica, (71%). By contrast, only a small part of Cerrado (26%), Caatinga (10%), Pantanal (24%) and Pampas (11%) biomes would be considered as forest to be protected by Deforestation-free products law, according to data from MapBiomas.
The Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, which are distributed throughout all the country and located in all biomes, are already suffering today the pressure of commodity production through: 1) illegal invasion and deforestation of their lands; 2) violence, threats and killings of indigenous leaders and activists who struggle for environmental and indigenous rights; 3) socio-environmental pressure through deforestation, fires and the intensification of large-scale agricultural activities around Indigenous Lands with the use of pesticides that pollute lands and rivers.
According to a crossing data study carried out by APIB with the location of Indigenous Lands in Brazil and the IPAM database about the land-use changes in a buffer of 25 km distance around: 29% of the territory around the Indigenous Lands is deforested, while within indigenous borders there is only 2% of deforestation. The data also shows that most of the deforested areas around Indigenous territories are lands under permanent cattle pastures (producing meat and leather) and soybean production, but also sugarcane, rice or cotton stand out among other commodities.
As a result of the growing risk of environmental degradation caused by some productive sectors, the proposal for a regulation on deforestation-free products aims to minimize consumption of products coming from supply chains associated with deforestation or forest degradation, and increase EU demand for and trade in legal and ‘deforestation free’ commodities and products. This, in turn, is expected to reduce GHG emissions and global biodiversity loss.
Nevertheless, all biomes have the same importance in achieving an environmental balance and APIB requests, first of all, that all natural areas should be protected by this legislation. We also demand respect for international treaties and agreements that protect human rights and indigenous rights, in particular, to provide a greater guarantee for the protection of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. In this regard, National legislations become insufficient when governments such as the current one of Jair Bolsonaro, with an openly anti-indigenist position, risk the lives of the guardians of the forests and biodiversity. Even with the pressure of globalization and commodities production, Indigenous Peoples struggle to continue living in an interrelationship of respect and sustainability with the forest. For this reason, APIB asks for the European Parliament to consider a more comprehensive deforestation-free products law that claims the protection of all types of vegetation and the world’s biodiversity, the survival of Indigenous Peoples and traditional populations, as well as the global climate balance to guarantee a good life for current and future generations.
A ancestralidade das guerreiras indígenas de todos os países latino americana é o elo que conecta a luta por suas vidas e por seus territórios
Brasília, 09 de setembro de 2021 – Um grupo de 7 mulheres, originárias de 7 povos da Amazônia Equatoriana vieram a Brasília se somar à Segunda Marcha das Mulheres Indígenas, em uma demonstração de solidariedade e apoio à luta de suas irmãs indígenas do Brasil.
“Viajamos milhares de quilômetros solidárias com nossas irmãs e companheiras brasileiras, pois suas lutas são similares às nossas, pois os Estados republicanos violam sistematicamente nossos direitos como mulheres, com indígenas, como seres humanos”, afirma Lineth Calapucha, vice-presidenta do Povo Kichwa, de Pastaza.
O grupo foi recebido pelas lideranças da Articulação Nacional de Mulheres Indígenas Guerreiras da Ancestralidade, com muita alegria e respeito. “Nós entendemos que nossa irmandade nasce de uma ancestralidade compartilhada, dos tempos em que não havia fronteiras que nos separassem artificialmente, nem projetos genocidas de Estado que roubassem nossas terras e matassem nossos povos”, reforça Braulina Baniwa, da ANMIGA.
Elas participarão das atividades da Segunda Marcha das Mulheres Indígenas, que acontece até sábado, nos campos da FUNARTE, e tem como tema “Reflorestar mentes para a cura da terra”.
Sônia Guajajara, coordenadora executiva da APIB e dirigente da ANMIGA reforça o laço entre as mulheres indígenas do Brasil e da Amazônia: “A Amazônia é nossa casa comum e temos de unir nossas forças para impedir o avanço da ambição, do fogo, dos pastos e das motosserras. A situação é urgente, e por isso estamos aqui e sempre estaremos, juntas e fortes”.
Esta potente articulação de mulheres vem da percepção de que o inimigo que enfrentam é violento e destruidor, mas a força das mulheres indígenas é maior, pois são guerreiras ancestrais que oferecem ao mundo a possibilidade de impedir que a crise climática e ambiental que vivemos se agrave.
O papel das terras indígenas na preservação das florestas na América Latina é reconhecida pela ONU, conforme afirma a FAO no relatório Os povos indígenas e a governança das florestas, publicado em 2021. O relatório afirma que as terras indígenas são os territórios mais bem preservados da região – e as mulheres são agentes fundamentais para este resultado, pois são elas que cuidam mais diretamente e cotidianamente dos territórios.
“Somos mulheres, somos indígenas. Somos mulheres indígenas, mulheres da terra, mulheres curadoras que defendem a vida”, afirma Nina Gualinga, da Organização Mulheres Amazônicas, em uma declaração que resume a força e a diversidade cultural que se reúnem em Brasília.
In memory of our ancestors, who gave us their lives so we can exist. In memory of the ‘encantados’ (enchanted spirits) who brought us here to continue their struggle in defense of our bodies, lands and territories, our identity and differentiated cultures, we communicate Brazilian and international societies that we will remain permanently mobilized in defense of LIFE and DEMOCRACY.
Our fight is not just to preserve the lives of our peoples but of the entire humanity, today seriously threatened by the policy of extermination and devastation of Mother Nature promoted by economic elites – who inherited the greed of colonial, mercantile and feudal expansionist power – and by governors like the genocidal Jair Bolsonaro.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) started the Struggle for Life camp in Brasília on August 22nd and reinforces in this letter that we will remain mobilized until September 2nd, 2021 to fight for our rights. Today, this is the greatest mobilization in the history of the original peoples, in the Federal Capital, and it reinforces our statement: our history does not begin in 1988!
Even putting our lives at risk, in the still seriously dangerous context of Covid19, we are here to tell the invaders of our territories that they will not pass, despite the intense attacks on our fundamental rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution of 1988.
We occupied the media, the streets, the villages and Brasília to fight for democracy, against the racist and anti-indigenous agenda that is being implemented by the Federal Government and the National Congress and to monitor the judgment in the Supreme Court (STF), which will define the future of our peoples.
During the month of June 2021, we carried out the Rise for the Earth, inaugurating our first on-site activities (after the pandemic), in Brasília, to face the worsening of violence against indigenous lives. From then on, we started a new cycle of struggles, considering that, since March 2020, we only gathered virtually and within our territories, due to the pandemic.
As we face many viruses, including Bolsonaro’s genocidal policy, we started our ‘Indigenous Spring’ that intends to occupy Brasília constantly, in 2021, in addition to continuing on social networks and in mobilized territories.
From the 7th to the 11th of September, indigenous women will be on the front line to bury once and for all the Milestone thesis, during the Second March of Indigenous Women: the original women reforesting minds for the healing of the Earth.
On the 26th, the STF began the judgment that will define the demarcation of Indigenous Lands (TIs). With no end in sight, the indigenous peoples are still mobilized to monitor the outcome of the votes of the Justices of the Supreme Court.
We will fight to the end to maintain our original right to the lands that we traditionally occupy and protect. Being part of this country, maintaining our condition as culturally differentiated peoples, even if public authorities and private corporations consider us obstacles to development. This development, which since the beginnings of the European invasion has been devastating, ethnocidal, genocidal and ecocidal, and which in current times has found, and not by chance, in this misgovernment, a prototype to perpetuate its project of domination.
We are children of the Earth! And the Earth is not ours, we are the ones who are part of it. It is the uterus that generates us and the arms that welcomes us. That’s why we give her our life! In our tradition there has never been this issue of regulating who owns the land or not, as our relationship with it was never of possession. Our possession is collective as it is the usufruct. This is the basic foundation of our existence, which is not yet understood by the ignorance of the so-called Western civilization culture, even after 521 years.
This contradiction is at the base of the disputes that the invaders’ heirs or descendants insist on keeping against us. They relentlessly dispute our territories without truce, during the different phases of the formation and configuration of the Brazilian National State and nowadays!
Neocolonial elites, also promoters and beneficiaries of the military dictatorship, took over most of the current National Congress and continue to defend the continuity of their hegemonic control, domination over bodies, lands and territories and not just indigenous peoples. They intend to make us believe that they are going to bring development to Brazil, when, in fact, they are promoting a Project for the Death of Mother Nature – of forests, rivers, biodiversity – and for the peoples and cultures holding millenary accumulated wisdom, outside the scientific institutions. According to the most recent data from the UN Panel on Climate Change, there is an undeniable increase in the planet’s temperature, floods, among other environmental disasters, obviously caused by this development model.
Considering all this factors, we say NO to any and all initiatives that ignore our historic and strategic protection of life, humanity and the planet. We also say NO to all those who propose to violate our rights through hundreds of administrative, legal, legislative and legal actions.
Our history did not begin in 1988, and our struggles are millennial, in other words, they have persisted since the Portuguese and successive European invaders arrived in these lands to take over our territories and their wealths. That is why we will continue to resist, claiming respect for our way of seeing, being, thinking, feeling and acting in the world.
Under the aegis of the Constitutional text, we trust that the Supreme Court will reinforce our original right to land, which does not depend on a specific date of occupation proof, as defended by the invaders. Through the Milestone thesis, the current colonizers want to ignore that we were already here when their ascendants decimated many of our ancestors, raising the current national state over their corpses.
Supported by our ancestry and the power of our peoples, our spirituality and the strength of our enchanted spirits who cherish the Bem Viver (Good Living), ours and humanity’s, we say no to the Milestone thesis! We call the national and international societies, especially the different organizations and social movements that have always been with us, and above it all, our bases, peoples and indigenous organizations to remain vigilant and mobilized in defense of our rights.
Brasília – DF, August 27, 2021.
Struggle for Life Camp
Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – APIB
APIB – Coalition of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) , along with several indigenous, indigenists and human rights organizations of Brazil, vehemently rejects the notification that the Chairmanship of Funai (National Indinegous Foundation) intends to designate an evangelical pastor connected to proselytizing activities of the New Tribes Mission of Brasil (MNTB), a North American missionary organization, to take Funai’s General Coordination for Isolated and Recent Contact peoples. The harmful effects of proselytizing activities on isolated indigenous peoples in Brazilian territory are known throughout history. There are countless occasions in which the coercive contact by missionary groups, including those connected to MNTB, resulted in a high number of deaths from illnesses, socio-cultural disruption and deterritorialization.
FUNAI, headed by a Federal Police chief appointed by members of the Ruralist lobby, is once more undermining the indigenous peoples rights, as well as dismantling the federal indigenous agency and the policy of non-contact with isolated indigenous peoples that began in 1987, and has international recognition. Instead of searching for competent technical staff within the Foundation, those with experience on working with isolated peoples, with technical capacity and aligned with the constitutional principals of honouring the autonomy of indigenous peoples, FUNAI yields to evangelical and proselytizing interests, undermining the secular policy of respect for indigenous peoples, that goes against what the 1988 Constitution determines.
We denounce, once again, the rapid dismantling of the public policies for indigenous peoples done by the Bolsonaro government, through the indigenous policies subjugation to the interests of religious groups that support their government and, in many cases, to the ruralist group that eagers the lands traditionally occupied by these peoples. It is another situation prone to violate the human rights intentionally triggered by the current government, and that could lead to the physical, sociocultural and spiritual death of isolated and recently contacted indigenous peoples living in Brazil. Indigenous peoples in Brazil and their representative organizations will continue fighting against the anti-indigenous measures of the Bolsonaro government and enduring for the sake of a republican and secular indigenous policy, which abides the indigenous rights, secured by the 1988 Constitution.
L’APIB – Articulation des Peuples Indigènes du Brésil, avec d’autres organisations indigènes, indigénistes et de défense des droits de l’homme dans le pays, désapprouve avec force l’information indiquant que la présidence de la Funai (fondation nationale de l’indien) prépare la nomination d’un pasteur évangélique lié aux activités prosélytes de la Missão Novas Tribus do Brasil (MNTB), organisation missionnaire d’origine nord-américaine, pour prendre en charge la coordination générale des indiens isolés et de contact récent de la Funai. Les conséquences néfastes des activités prosélytes sur les peuples indigènes isolés au Brésil au cours de l’histoire sont connues. Il y a d’innombrables situations où le contact forcé provoqué par des groupes missionnaires, y compris liés au MNTB, a eu comme conséquence rapide un nombre élevé de morts à cause de maladies, déstructuration socio-culturelle et déterritorialisation. La Funai, dirigée par un délégué de la Police Fédérale, nommé par le lobby de l’agro-industrie, viens une fois de plus porter atteinte aux droits des peuples indigènes, démonter l’organe indigéniste fédéral et une politique de non contact avec les peuples indigènes isolés initiée en 1987 et qui a une reconnaissance internationale.
Au lieu de chercher au sein de la Fondation elle-même un encadrement technique compétent, avec de l’expérience de travail avec les peuples isolés, une capacité technique et un alignement avec les préceptes constitutionnels de respect à l’autonomie des peuples indigènes, la Funai cède aux intérêts évangéliques et prosélytes, venant miner une politique laïque de respect aux peuples indigènes et confronter ce que détermine la Constitution de 1988.
Nous dénonçons, une fois de plus, le démantèlement rapide des politiques publiques à destination des peuples indigènes du gouvernement Bolsonaro, par la soumission de la politique indigéniste aux intérêts de groupes religieux qui apportent leur soutien à son gouvernement et, souvent, à des groupes « ruralistes » intéressés par les terres traditionnellement occupées par ces peuples. C’est une situation de plus propice à la violation de droits humains provoquée intentionnellement par le gouvernement actuel, qui pourra conduire à la mort physique, socio-culturelle et spirituelle des peuples indigènes isolés et de récent contact qui vivent au Brésil.
Les peuples indigènes au Brésil et leurs organisations représentatives continueront de lutter contre les mesures anti-indigènes du gouvernement Bolsonaro et en faveur d’une politique indigéniste républicaine et laïque, qui rend effectifs les droits indigènes inscrits dans la Constitution de 1988.
It is with profound sadness and outrage that I express my deepest and most sincere condolences to the family members of Firmino Silvino Prexede Guajajara and Raimundo Guajajara who at this moment are feeling the pain and sadness of losing a loved one to such cruelty, that made victims among the Guajajara People today. The Indigenous People lived in the villages Silvino (Cana Brava Indigenous Land) and Severino Descendência village (Lagoa Comprida Indigenous Land), both in the state of Maranhão, where, 35 days ago had already gone through the murder of Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who acted as a guardian of the forest.
I feel a mix of pain and anger toward yet another crime that hovers over my Guajajara people. This crime is a reflection of the escalation of hate and cruelty incited by the nefarious political spectrum of Jair Bolsonaro’s perverse and racist government, which continues to attack us daily, denying our right to exist and inciting the historical sickness that is the racism the Brazilian people still suffers.
We are adrift, without the protection of the Brazilian state, whose constitutional role is being neglected by the current authorities. The federal government is an outlaw government, criminal in its political practice, and operates in a genocidal manner to expel us from our territories, butchering our culture, bleeding our roots.
The state of tension, insecurity and persecution against the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil only increases. We are being attacked, decimated, and it is always worth remembering that an attack on Indigenous life is an attack on humanity itself, since, Indigenous Peoples from around the world, are the defenders of 82% of all global biodiversity.
No more bloodshed!
Enough of impunity!
We demand action be taken immediately and justice to be enforced!
We demand that the right authorities clarify the facts by rigorously punishing these criminals so that the sense of impunity no longer motivates criminal actions against our people, brutally striking Indigenous lives down.
The Spacial Research Institute (Inpe) publicized on the last November 18th new data confirming the AMazon deforestation increasing in 29.5% from August 2018 to July 2019, reaching a 9.762 km² area. It’s about the worst increasing percentage from the last two decades.
This is the largest deforestation rate on the last 10 years, an alarming data, a harmful harvest, fruit of the anti-environment speech and policy from the current government, On the last months, the president Jair Bolsonaro and Ministry of Environment, Ricardo Salles, scolded and criticize the environmental organs agents rigidity of inspections against the illegal loggers and encouraged illegal panning, indigenous lands and conservation units invasions with their speeches. The government also revoked the Decree that prevented sugar cane planting on Amazon and Pantanal, biomes where the soy and cattle raising already make damages.
This way, the capital force gets encouraged by the official speech, advance and want to appropriate from the territories, in order to exploit till exhaustion the natural goods stocks there existent.
No wonder where finishing today on Europe the ‘Advocacy Tour Indigenous Blood: Not a Single Drop More. We have been for 35 days on a circulation denouncing and warning the world about the atrocities that are happening in Brazil. We’re asking for Europe’s solidarity not to ratify the Mercosul deal, just like creating laws that can curb, give transparency, traceability, and punishment to the companies that buy products that come from conflict areas or indigenous lands. It is required that all parts – being State, companies and civil society -assume their responsibility in relation to the problem that the climate crisis represents to humanity in the 21st Century. The moment is dramatic and urgent!
The deforestation data must be considered by the international community as crime proof against nature and humanity. Appropriate measures must be taken against the current Brazilian government destroying wrath.
With the indigenous and environment policies dismantling, the systematic systemic attacks to our lives and the State Policies that ensure this life and the biodiversity respect, we are, as peoples, condemned to extermination.
Today we, indigenous peoples, are 5% of the world population and, even with that number, we are responsible by 82% of the world’s biodiversity preservation. That is, the systematic attacks that have been undertaken against our territories also are attacks against whole humanity.
It is required that global society wakes up urgently and the Bolsonaro government fascist saga be stopped on the streets, social media and by national and international institutions. We don’t have a plan B, because we don’t have a planet B. This is a help request, a warning scream from Indigenous Peoples from Brazil.
