“We are the land. We are inseparable from it. We do not want land to make a profit, but to assure our existence.”
– Sônia Bone Guajajara, Brazilian indigenous leader
Indigenous rights in Brazil are under an unprecedented attack.
Brazil’s government and its allies among the rural elites and big-business interests know that indigenous peoples defend their own territories better than anyone else. That’s why they’re besieging those rights on multiple fronts in order to turn the Amazon into their personal piggy bank.
The current president, Michel Temer, and Justice Minister Osmar Serraglio are leading these attacks. They’ve slashed the budget and staff of the agency that grants legal titles for indigenous community territories, and they are promoting a constitutional amendment to severely limit new titles for indigenous land. They’re also advancing legislation to open up already-titled indigenous territories to massive agroindustrial, mining, and mega-dam projects.
Brazil’s indigenous people are the best stewards of their lands, waters, and forests. If the government succeeds in stripping them of their rights, not only will they suffer dire cultural and physical consequences, but our shared global climate will also face even greater peril.
Help stop Brazil’s attacks on indigenous rights and the Amazon! |
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