New York, NY – Indigenous leader Juma Xipaia, protagonist and co-producer of the documentary Yanuni, joined an action yesterday during Climate Week NYC to protest Canadian mining company Belo Sun’s proposed gold mine in Brazil’s Amazon. The action came as the project faces deepening legal scrutiny in Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, where the Office of the Prosecutor General has called for the urgent suspension of Belo Sun’s installation license.
A video from the action was subsequently shared by actor and Yanuni co-producer Leonardo DiCaprio on Instagram. In his post, DiCaprio warned of the potential impacts of Belo Sun’s proposed mine in the Volta Grande do Xingu and highlighted Indigenous opposition to the project, directing his followers to the campaign led by the Alliance for the Volta Grande do Xingu.
During the event, “A Call to Action for the Amazon: BELO SUN OUT,” Juma held signs reading “Don’t let them kill the river,” and “A Volta Grande do Xingu Resiste” (“The Volta Grande do Xingu Resists”). The action was supported by Amazon Watch, Instituto Juma, and Earth Alliance.
“Listen to the Indigenous peoples who are saying no to this project of death,” said Juma Xipaia, founder of Instituto Juma. “We have learned to listen to the forest. It teaches us. The guardians and enchanted beings teach us. And that is why we know how to help hold the global climate in balance. It means stopping projects like Belo Sun. It means stopping the killing of those who contribute the most to protecting the forest and the climate.”
This month, Yanuni was released for free on Leonardo DiCaprio’s YouTube channel. Directed by Richard Ladkani, the documentary follows Juma’s work defending the Amazon and Indigenous rights. Released on September 5, the film surpassed 1.5 million views in its first three days.
Belo Sun plans to develop Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mine in the Volta Grande do Xingu, in the state of Pará. The project is planned for a region already profoundly affected by the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam and has faced ongoing legal challenges over its potential impacts on Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, failures to adequately consult affected communities, and deficiencies in its environmental licensing process.
The legal dispute entered a new phase this month when Brazil’s Office of the Prosecutor General asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to overturn a ruling that reinstated Belo Sun’s installation license. Prosecutors argued that unresolved questions remain over the project’s impacts on Indigenous peoples and whether potentially affected communities have been adequately consulted. The STF has agreed to hear the case but has not yet set a date for its ruling.
“Since 2008, we have answered the call to protect the Xingu. We cannot allow Belo Sun to further destroy the heart of the Amazon with what would be Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mine. We need collective action to stop this project – and we need every person who watched Yanuni to take action today,” said Leila Salazar-López, Executive Director of Amazon Watch.
