06/01/2006
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“Indigenous Brazilians suffered attacks, killings enforced evictions from their
ancestral lands and the federal government has completed its stated goal of demarcating
all remaining indigenous lands.” Pointing its finger at Brazil this is what Amnesty
International in its 2006 Report stated. “The bad treatment of minority groups
and the socially excluded continues and indigenous peoples continue to suffer
serious violations of their human rights.”
Strategy. The first step is finding alliances both near and far. The first thing they did
was to organise the meeting. The place: the now symbolic Altamira. “We have made
an appeal to all the people that live in the Xingu Valley, so that they can unite
with us in a huge demonstration against the dam at Monte Belo and the other dams
that Eletronord want to build in our valley, and to demonstrate to protect and
develop out productive force, our culture and community.” These words were used
to launch the protest.
Who’s going to do it… The indigenous peoples’ protest doesn’t end here. There is now the opportunity
to put all the problems that have emerged from governmental indifference on the
table. Pollution of the Xingu River, for example has arisen through the mass cultivation
of maize and activities associated with rearing livestock. “We demand that the
State regulates these activities to stop the destruction of the ecosystem of the
river,” also adding the problem of the boundaries of the indigenous lands, that
appear not to have been respected by other farmers. And FUNAI, the federal organisation
that is responsible for safeguarding their interests, hasn’t lifted a finger to
help them. So the Kayapò have been forced to put more than sixty guards who patrol
along strategic points of the boundaries. And finally a declaration to stop immediately
ecologically non sustainable activities before they irreversibly destroy the environment.
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Kayapò Indians protest against the construction of dams along the Xingu River in the Brazilian Amazon
“Indigenous Brazilians suffered attacks, killings enforced evictions from their
ancestral lands and the federal government has completed its stated goal of demarcating
all remaining indigenous lands.” Pointing its finger at Brazil this is what Amnesty
International in its 2006 Report stated. “The bad treatment of minority groups
and the socially excluded continues and indigenous peoples continue to suffer
serious violations of their human rights.”
What’s happening to the Kayapò is in fact, only one of the thousands of cases
denounced by the British NGO. ‘No’ to the five dams on the Xingu River in the
Amazon is what has been repeated loud and clear for months. They have also organised
an assembly with representatives from all tribal groups in order to decide what
to do. The project has been put supported by Eletronorte, a subsidiary of the
Brazilian States electrical energy company Electors (Brazilian Electricity Centres).
It is seen by the inhabitants of the forest as being a danger to the environment,
something devastating. They fear floods and destruction.
Making the situation worse is the lack of communication. No one, from either
the government or from the company has taken the trouble to communicate with the
indigenous peoples, by doing this they have violated the Brazilian Constitution
which, at all costs, protects ancestral lands.
A story that repeats itself. Already in 1989 the Kayapò found themselves facing a similar situation. Still
the indigenous peoples protest but still they want to construct a dam. They organised
a large meeting in Altamira and succeeded in sensitising both local and international
press and gaining generalised support. At least now they know how to move themselves.
Strategy. The first step is finding alliances both near and far. The first thing they did
was to organise the meeting. The place: the now symbolic Altamira. “We have made
an appeal to all the people that live in the Xingu Valley, so that they can unite
with us in a huge demonstration against the dam at Monte Belo and the other dams
that Eletronord want to build in our valley, and to demonstrate to protect and
develop out productive force, our culture and community.” These words were used
to launch the protest.Defending the Amazon. “These dams could produce catastrophic effects on the ecosystem and flood huge
areas of indigenous peoples land,” explains the spokesperson for the Indians.
Some have said that if the government continues to maintain its position it could
manifest itself in a war with the Kayapò. They added “we have been tricked” saying
that the company and President Lula haven’t revealed their true intentions; rather
they have presented the project as a single dam, without saying that there could
be five gigantic dams. With this they have violated national law, that states
that all development projects that may have damaging effects on indigenous territory
have to be discussed with the community that live in the area, who then have the
possibility to take the discussion to the National Congress.
Who’s going to do it… The indigenous peoples’ protest doesn’t end here. There is now the opportunity
to put all the problems that have emerged from governmental indifference on the
table. Pollution of the Xingu River, for example has arisen through the mass cultivation
of maize and activities associated with rearing livestock. “We demand that the
State regulates these activities to stop the destruction of the ecosystem of the
river,” also adding the problem of the boundaries of the indigenous lands, that
appear not to have been respected by other farmers. And FUNAI, the federal organisation
that is responsible for safeguarding their interests, hasn’t lifted a finger to
help them. So the Kayapò have been forced to put more than sixty guards who patrol
along strategic points of the boundaries. And finally a declaration to stop immediately
ecologically non sustainable activities before they irreversibly destroy the environment.
Searching for solutions. “We Kayapò are aware that the problems are threatening the life of our community
but they are also threatening other indigenous communities that live in the valley,“
they explain, “the solution is to fight together with the colonies of Bajo Xingu
and Transamazonia as a single united front, in the name of an alternative economy
based on the productive force of the region using sustainable resources.” Therefore,
the invitation is to unite together in Altamira, in the name of the life of the
valley and its inhabitants.
Stella Spinelli
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