Support Indigenous Rights!
Your contribution allows us to continue to support the Terra Livre mobilization and continue to fight for the rights of the indigenous communities in Brazil.
In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day in Brazil last month, a group of high-profile Brazilian artists announced that they were fed up with the mounting attacks against Brazil’s indigenous peoples. In a video produced by our friends at Uma Gota No Oceano (“A Drop in the Ocean”), leading celebrities took a stand, calling on the public to take urgent action in support of indigenous rights.
“The Tamuaté-Aki Campaign brings together people and organizations with the common goal of supporting the rights of Brazil’s indigenous peoples,” state Gota No Oceano. “More than 305 indigenous groups comprise a great wealth of Brazilian socio-cultural diversity, reflected in their knowledge and ways of life, featuring 274 languages and a wide variety of artistic expressions and rituals. The demarcation of indigenous territories, currently paralyzed within Brazil’s Congress, is a basic condition of survival for these people. Most indigenous lands in Brazil suffer illegal invasions and the impacts of industrial projects that often result in the pollution of rivers by pesticides and massive deforestation. Nevertheless, in some regions of Brazil, almost all that remains of native vegetation cover is inside of indigenous territories and other protected lands. We believe that the diversity and plurality of Brazilian society are fundamental to build another future for humanity and the planet.”
Indigenous people from across Brazil are fed up with the unacceptable and escalating attacks on their lives, cultures and territories and are taking action next week at a National Indigenous Mobilization called Terra Livre. They are gathering in Brasilia from May 26- 29 in defense of their rights to land and to dignity, which are increasingly threatened by powerful political and economic interests.
While the battle to defend indigenous rights and territories is over 500 years old, the attacks on indigenous rights as enshrined in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution have increased in the past 4 years, led by the agribusiness, mining, oil, logging and energy sectors with government collusion. These forces are aggressively pursuing rollbacks on indigenous rights and a halt to future demarcation of indigenous territories, suppressing these rights through administrative, legal, and legislative measures.
While the world’s eyes focus on Brazil in the lead up to the World Cup, it’s time to tell the country and the world that we will not accept these brutal attacks on indigenous rights.
Remember: Brazil’s traditional communities occupy vast swaths of the Amazon rainforest. By and large these territories are highly conserved, like islands of green in a sea of deforestation. The contribution these communities offer is not only critical for the perseverance of the forest, but for the continuity of our civilization: they are the guardians of rainforests that stand between humanity and climate catastrophe.
Amazon Watch will be on the ground at Terra Livre providing communications support in order to guarantee that the demands of Brazil’s indigenous movement resound around the world. Our partners at APIB (National Indigenous Association of Brazil) have requested financial support to ensure full participation of indigenous people from across Brazil at this critical time. If you can donate to support APIB, please do so today!
Please show your support for indigenous peoples, their rights and their mobilization next week!.
