2023-06-19 16:10:00
Deolinda Freitas Prado, from the Desana people, was one of the founders of the Associação Mulheres Indígenas do Rio Negro (AMARN)|AMARN/Disclosure
It is a long journey from the community of Santa Cruz do Turi, in the district of Iauaretê (AM), on the border with Colombia, to Manaus. Even more distant for a young indigenous woman who, hoping for a better life, left her place of origin for the first time to work in the Amazonian capital as a maid and encountered a series of violence.
Part of the life story of the leader Deolinda Freitas Prado, of the Desana people, coincides with that of many indigenous women from the Upper Rio Negro.
Deolinda, indigenous name Diakarapo (“mother of water ducklings”), one of the founders of the Association of Indigenous Women of Alto Rio Negro (AMARN), died on June 1, aged 70, in Manaus, leaving a legacy of resistance and solidarity.
“Deolinda was a guardian of our association, a guardian of indigenous women. She was the first AMARN coordinator in 1987, holding various positions. In 2022 she was elected elder of the association, a position she held when she passed away”, said Clarice Gama da Silva, from the Tukano people, from AMARN.
“She was very respected. On this journey, she left us a very important legacy. She was our coordinator, adviser, guardian, example of many things, of tenderness. She never fought with the women and it helped to understand the fight dynamics,” she said.
In addition, she actively participated in the discussions of the 1988 Constituent together with chief Raoni Kayapó, among other leaders.
AMARN was born in 1987 with the purpose of welcoming indigenous women from the Upper Rio Negro who, like Deolinda, ended up exposed to a series of violence in the capital.
Deolinda was removed from her indigenous community, when she was about 10 years old, to study at a Salesian school in Iauaretê. At age 16, she was sent to work as a maid in Manaus. Other indigenous women followed the same path, being taken mainly to the homes of military personnel or religious relatives. Many did not receive their salaries properly and still suffered abuse.
“She was taken to Manaus, but there was no idea of what would happen. She had expected it to be something better. But she reported another dimension of events, with a series of domestic, sexual and psychological violence, in addition to racism, discrimination and prejudice”, lamented Clarice Gama.
In this context, many young indigenous women did not master household chores and were expelled by their employers. Abandoned, they had no way to return home.
Deolinda is considered ‘guardian of indigenous women’ | AMARN/Disclosure
“She was taken to Manaus, but there was no idea of what would happen. She had expected it to be something better. But she reported another dimension of events, with a series of domestic, sexual and psychological violence, in addition to racism, discrimination and prejudice”, lamented Clarice Gama.
In this context, many young indigenous women did not master household chores and were expelled by their employers. Abandoned, they had no way to return home.
“We had no relatives, nobody. AMARN was designed for us, to have a reference for women when they are unemployed or when they are sick”, reported Deolinda herself in video available on the internet.
AMARN, one of the first associations of indigenous women in the Amazon and in Brazil, has become a reference for fighting and resisting different forms of violence.
Also called Numiã Kurá – in the Tukano language, “group of women” –, the association was created with the encouragement of anthropologist Janete Chernella. At the time, she was doing research in the Alto Rio Negro region and met the families of these women and began to support the mobilization.
The group was organized with the aim of promoting opportunities for income generation, quality of life and socio-political education.
Currently, the association brings together indigenous women who produce handicrafts from raw materials coming from the forest, such as seeds and fibers. In addition, they offer Tukano lessons. There are about 80 associates and 30 artisans from different ethnic groups in the Upper Rio Negro region, such as Tukano, Desano, Tariano, Tuyuka, Baré, Baniwa, Wanano.
“Our main activity is crafts. This is our form of struggle, of resistance. Through the bioeconomy we generate sustainability and income”, pointed out Clarice Gama.
Deolinda Freitas Prado was veiled at the association’s headquarters (Rua 6, nº 156, Conjunto Vila Câmara, East Zone of Manaus). The burial was at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cemetery, in the Tarumã neighborhood.
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