2023-06-05 21:00:00
“Don’t let the isolated people become decimated, the owners of the forest are afraid”, sing the rappers of Brô Mc’s in “O Chamado dos Isolados”, a song written by the artists and indigenous activist Lídia Guajajara. The song is a wake-up call to the importance of protecting and promoting the rights of isolated indigenous peoples, and forms part of the campaign “Isolated or Decimatedan initiative by Brazilian civil society organizations that seeks to raise public awareness and pressure authorities to protect isolated indigenous peoples in Brazil.
Signed by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab) and the Observatory for Human Rights of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indigenous Peoples (Opi), the action began amid the Covid-19 pandemic to contain pressure on Indigenous Lands with presence of isolated peoples and to charge the former Fundação Nacional do Índio (current Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas) for the effective protection of these territories.
The initiative was co-created by the Wieden+Kennedy São Paulo agency, which also supported the idealization of the campaign. Composed of illustrations that make reference to the situation of indigenous peoples, the videoclip is signed by Rapha Baggas, a graphic designer who has an important work focused on social activism.
The release of the song and the clip will be on June 5th, at 6 pm, in Brasilia, during the indigenous encampment against Marco Temporal. The date also marks one year since the death of Bruno Pereira, an indigenist murdered in the Javari Valley alongside journalist Dom Phillips. Bruno was one of the country’s leading specialists in working with isolated peoples and was one of the creators of the campaign “Isolated or Decimated.”
Engaged Artists
Brô Mc’s, composed of Bruno Vn, Kelvin Mbaretê, CH and Clemerson Batista, in addition to demarcating spaces on major international stages, such as Rock in Rio, also seeks to alert society about the situation of isolated indigenous peoples.
Residents of the Boróró and Jaguapiru villages, harassed by large monoculture farms located in the municipality of Dourados, in Mato Grosso do Sul, 235 kilometers from Campo Grande, the group approached the issue of isolated peoples because they understood the emergency of the situation. “We see that this is a totally different thing, they live free there. So living in freedom there. We are in a recovery process and it is a stop that we seek to find in our origin, where we came from. But, at the same time, we identify with the people who still resist in the forest and want to encourage them to stay there”, says Bruno Vn.
Lídia Guajajara, in turn, intends to use her music as a tool to demystify prejudiced views of isolated people. “It is an issue that society is unaware of and we put ourselves in a position to defend these groups. Therefore, the song, in the final part of the chorus, says: Ka’a izar ukyze wá [eles estão em perigo]. The owners of the forest are in danger.”
political context
The release event for the song and video “O Chamado dos Isolados” will take place at the indigenous camp against Marco Temporal. Organized by the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Apib), the mobilization takes place in Brasília, from June 5th to 8th, and aims to press against the Temporal Framework thesis, which should be judged by the Federal Supreme Court on the next 7th.
In the last few weeks, pressured by the judgment, the ruralist group in the National Congress approved the urgency regime for Bill 490/07, in a maneuver that seeks to anticipate the decision of the STF.
Assessed as unconstitutional, PL 490, in practice, puts an end to demarcations, freeing Indigenous Lands for mining and exploitation. Furthermore, one of the provisions that is especially dangerous for isolated peoples provides for the end of the no-contact policy. If the PL is approved, forced contact with these groups would once again be allowed, a practice that led to several genocides and which was abandoned in Brazil after the military dictatorship.
Learn more: With the government under pressure, the plenary of the Chamber approves a project that makes demarcations unfeasible
Brazil is the country that has the largest number of records of isolated indigenous peoples in the world, 114 records – between confirmed and under study -, but many more may not yet have been recognized. These peoples live connected to the forests and rivers – they protect the forests and are protected by them.
Due to agricultural expansion policies in the Amazon territories, they have been under threat for decades and several cases of genocide have been recorded in the past. However, the history of aggressions also advanced, at the end of the 20th century, public policies for the protection of isolated people, mainly that of non-contact, which guarantees respect for the self-determination of these groups and the option they actively make to remain autonomous. in relation to the national society.
The Bolsonaro Government tried to reverse these achievements, promoting the sabotage of policies that protected the isolated peoples and their lands, threatening their existence and devastating their forests. The danger pointed out in the song is a reality of violence against these peoples. Throughout 2022, Indigenous Lands with confirmed presence of isolated indigenous peoples were heavily affected by deforestation caused by illegal mining and land grabbing, according to monitoring carried out by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA).
A legacy of struggle
Threats do not only hang over the peoples who live in the territories, but also their partners and defenders. In 2022, Bruno Pereira, indigenist who founded Opi, was murdered by invaders in Vale do Javari (AM), an IT with the highest presence of isolated individuals in the world. The song and video that will be released on the 5th also make reference to Bruno’s fight and legacy.
Its inspection, territorial protection and promotion of the rights of the indigenous people of the Javari Valley hindered the criminal activities of gangs that devastate the region. Bruno’s life was dedicated to promoting the rights of isolated indigenous peoples and left an immense legacy for Brazilian indigenism, which includes the “Isolados ou Dizimados” campaign, of which he was one of the creators.
At the invitation of the campaign, indigenous artists echo Bruno’s voice to broaden the perspective of Brazilian society on these peoples and contribute, through rap, to the promotion of indigenous rights and public awareness of the struggle of indigenous peoples in Brazil.
Isolated or Decimated Campaign
The name of the campaign refers to the fact that, without adequate protection, these peoples risk being decimated (completely annihilated) or forced to leave their lands and traditional ways of life forever. The central objective was to put pressure on Funai to renew the ordinances that protected four Indigenous Lands with the presence of isolated people: Jacareúba-Katawixi (AM), Piripkura (MT), Pirititi (RR) and Ituna-Itatá (PA), in addition to calling the attention to the various threats faced by isolated indigenous peoples in Brazil: invasions of their lands, deforestation, exploitation of natural resources, violence and health vulnerability due to undue proximity to external agents, which can lead to epidemics and mass deaths .
The “Isolated or Decimated” campaign also defends the need to respect the autonomy and will of these peoples, ensuring that they can live in isolation if they wish to do so, as guaranteed by law, without being exposed to external threats. For this, measures are required such as the demarcation of Indigenous Lands with the presence of isolated peoples, the inspection of deforestation and the illegal exploitation of natural resources in these areas, and the strengthening of protection policies for isolated indigenous peoples in Brazil.
To strengthen the objectives, a online public petition to collect signatures and put pressure on Funai to fulfill its institutional mission to protect indigenous peoples. Over the entire period of the active campaign, more than 26,000 signatures were collected. Since the beginning of the action, several political and communication movements have been carried out with the aim of alerting public opinion to the current condition of the isolated people.
The campaign contributed so that the four ILs that were under threat of lack of protection had their use restriction ordinances renewed. The Ituna-Itatá ordinance was initially renewed for just six months, following an order by the Federal Court in Altamira, Pará.
The MPF appealed and Funai was finally forced to renew the ordinance for three years, a great victory for the campaign and for the isolated people. The Jacareúba-Katawixi Indigenous Land was unprotected throughout 2022, but in 2023, under the new government, the restriction on use was renewed, during the inauguration of the new president of Funai.
In the same act, Joenia Wapichana renewed the restriction on the use of the Piripkura Indigenous Land, another that would remain unprotected after the ordinance was extended for just six months in the previous government.
In the Middle Purus (AM), the presence of an isolated people on the Mamoriá River, outside the limits of Indigenous Lands, was confirmed more than a year ago, but until now Funai has not instituted restrictions on the use of the area, necessary to prevent invasions and contacts that can cause the death of isolated people in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to continue pressing for all the lands where there are isolated people to be protected and their peoples to have the right to autonomy and to maintain their ways of life.
Faced with the setbacks that have marked recent years, the indigenous movement and its allies have strengthened strategies to contain invasions, with monitoring and autonomous protection actions in the territory to protect the isolated people. There were several public denunciations and legal actions to guarantee the legal protection of their territories and ways of life.
During the campaign, the articulation and production of engagement to alert society in general about the situation of isolated indigenous peoples paid off. The situation of these peoples was highlighted in the press, yielding more than 70 insertions in national vehicles and more than 100 insertions in the international press.
Download the campaign report here.
What are the main threats to isolates?
Threats to isolated indigenous peoples in Brazil are multiple and complex, and require urgent measures to protect their lives, territories and autonomy.
Deforestation and environmental degradation
Deforestation for agriculture and illegal logging in the Amazon threatens the survival of indigenous peoples who live with and in the forests. In addition, the construction of roads and hydroelectric dams can lead to conflicts and the devastation of territories.
land invasion
- The invasion of Indigenous Lands by land grabbers, loggers, prospectors and other criminal groups is also a constant threat. These invaders often use violence and intimidation to evict indigenous people from their lands, causing irreparable damage to cultures and ways of life.
Illnesses
- Uncontacted indigenous peoples lack immunity to many diseases common to non-indigenous people, such as influenza, measles and tuberculosis. When they come into contact with external agents, they can be exposed to these diseases and suffer serious consequences.
Conflicts with armed groups
- Some isolated indigenous peoples live in areas where armed groups are present, such as border areas, where drug traffickers and militias operate. These groups may use violence against indigenous people and threaten their survival.
SPOKESPEAKERS:
OPI: Maria Emilia Coelho
COIAB: Alcebias Sapará, Deputy General Coordinator
ISA: (isolated data) Tiago Moreira dos Santos
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