Dec 20, 2024
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Indigenous Brazilian Territory Threatened
by Brazilian Activists
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Brazilian Natives protest new laws. image: Counsel for Indigenous MissionOUR PROBLEMS ARE MANY, AND OUR
pain is deep. We have surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID in our country. Our government, led by the Trump-like Jair Bolsonaro, has been obstinately ineffective against the pandemic and only 13% of us have been vaccinated. Having turned totally right wing, it is also supporting the attempt of agrarian, industrial and financial elites to seize Native land.
The destruction of indigenous people, who are dedicated to using the forests responsibly, also harms the environment. Since they have the right to a sustainable way of life, these actions resemble Nazism.
The ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazil is being threatened by several actions in the Brazilian Congress and Judiciary, but most notably bill PL 490. Its purpose is to take away rights to land marked as part of Native people's territories.
A legal loophole called “Marco Temporal,” which means “time frame,” could legalize theft of their lands unless the Brazilian Supreme Court stops it. If they can’t prove they occupied those territories in 1988, when Brazil’s constitution was ratified, the so-called time frame, the areas will be open to agriculture, mining or other extractive industries.
There have been many protests, see more information here.
PL 490 would violate their ability to sustain life and future generations. The bill also violates Brazil’s Constitution and mocks Brazil’s signature to international treaties, like the Convention 169 of the ILO (International Labor Organization) on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the UN International Indigenous Rights Declaration and the UN International Human Rights Declaration.
Brazilian Natives protest new laws. image: Counsel for Indigenous MissionThere are two crucial actions taking place in the judiciary at this moment, which are about to go before the Supreme Court. On June 30th, 2021, a key process concerning the demarcation of the territory of the Xokleng, will be judged. The Xokleng, who live in the southern, more European-settled part of Brazil, experienced an extremely violent colonization, which continued up through the dictatorial governments that ended in 1988.
If the bill against the Xokleng passes, all Native Peoples who have been violently expelled from their territories during national colonization will be threatened with complete extinction. For more on this story, see the Greenpeace article.
The national institutions which should protect them, like the National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) or the Ministry of Environment, act against their interests. In this context, death is not only physical, but also cultural.
The attack of their basic rights and human dignity invested from the executive power is already being consolidated in other ways. In some places, this degradation is supported by evangelical Christian missionaries, who promote the division of the communities by criticizing their shamans and healers. Unfortunately, they get support and motivation from the federal administrative structure.
It’s urgent, that authorities and people of the world protest or at least do not compound these ecocides and genocides. Your help is of great relevance.
One way to help is send an email to the following email addresses, saying “No to PL 490 and No to the Marco Temporal.”
President of the Chamber of Deputies/Presidente da Câmara dos Deputados:
President of the Federal Senate/Presidente do Senado Federal:
President of the Supreme Court/Presidente da Suprema Corte:
Minister of Agriculture/Ministra da Agricultura:
Or you can express yourself in any way you find suitable for the cause. Singing, dancing and blessing with the fraternal love Tupã, God in the native Brazilian Guarani language, is also appropriate.
We are very grateful for any kind of positive contribution. Thank you!!
Posted on Jul 06, 2021 - 10:27 AM
by Brazilian Activists
Please support our stories by liking articles—thanks!
Brazilian Natives protest new laws. image: Counsel for Indigenous Missionpain is deep. We have surpassed 500,000 deaths from COVID in our country. Our government, led by the Trump-like Jair Bolsonaro, has been obstinately ineffective against the pandemic and only 13% of us have been vaccinated. Having turned totally right wing, it is also supporting the attempt of agrarian, industrial and financial elites to seize Native land.
The destruction of indigenous people, who are dedicated to using the forests responsibly, also harms the environment. Since they have the right to a sustainable way of life, these actions resemble Nazism.
The ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazil is being threatened by several actions in the Brazilian Congress and Judiciary, but most notably bill PL 490. Its purpose is to take away rights to land marked as part of Native people's territories.
A legal loophole called “Marco Temporal,” which means “time frame,” could legalize theft of their lands unless the Brazilian Supreme Court stops it. If they can’t prove they occupied those territories in 1988, when Brazil’s constitution was ratified, the so-called time frame, the areas will be open to agriculture, mining or other extractive industries.
There have been many protests, see more information here.
PL 490 would violate their ability to sustain life and future generations. The bill also violates Brazil’s Constitution and mocks Brazil’s signature to international treaties, like the Convention 169 of the ILO (International Labor Organization) on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the UN International Indigenous Rights Declaration and the UN International Human Rights Declaration.
Brazilian Natives protest new laws. image: Counsel for Indigenous MissionIf the bill against the Xokleng passes, all Native Peoples who have been violently expelled from their territories during national colonization will be threatened with complete extinction. For more on this story, see the Greenpeace article.
The national institutions which should protect them, like the National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) or the Ministry of Environment, act against their interests. In this context, death is not only physical, but also cultural.
The attack of their basic rights and human dignity invested from the executive power is already being consolidated in other ways. In some places, this degradation is supported by evangelical Christian missionaries, who promote the division of the communities by criticizing their shamans and healers. Unfortunately, they get support and motivation from the federal administrative structure.
It’s urgent, that authorities and people of the world protest or at least do not compound these ecocides and genocides. Your help is of great relevance.
One way to help is send an email to the following email addresses, saying “No to PL 490 and No to the Marco Temporal.”
President of the Chamber of Deputies/Presidente da Câmara dos Deputados:
President of the Federal Senate/Presidente do Senado Federal:
President of the Supreme Court/Presidente da Suprema Corte:
Minister of Agriculture/Ministra da Agricultura:
Or you can express yourself in any way you find suitable for the cause. Singing, dancing and blessing with the fraternal love Tupã, God in the native Brazilian Guarani language, is also appropriate.
We are very grateful for any kind of positive contribution. Thank you!!
Posted on Jul 06, 2021 - 10:27 AM
