The Urihi Yanomami Association has announced that it will offer the winners of the statuette of the highest award in cinema – made of solid bronze and covered in 24-carat gold – a sculpture of the deity Omama that does not use gold in its composition.
“In their culture, gold is a symbol of success. For my people, it means death and destruction,” says Junior Hekurari Yanomami, leader of the association, in a video released this Friday by advertising agency DM9.
Illegal mining caused a humanitarian crisis in this community of 30,400 inhabitants, located in a 96,000 km reserve between the states of Roraima and Amazonas.
The video is part of the “The cost of gold” campaign, which aims to put the Hollywood spotlight on the problem globally.
“Illegal gold is mined with mercury. Liters and more liters are poured into our rivers, killing our animals, killing our forests, killing our people”, warns Junior Hekurari in his native language.
“You also have the opportunity to take a stand in front of millions of people and ask the whole world to put an end to illegal gold mining”, he adds, in a direct message to the actors competing for the coveted prize.
In 2021, 54% of the gold traded in Brazil had indications of illegality at its origin, according to the Yanomami association.
Illegal mining increased especially during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), a supporter of opening up indigenous lands for this activity. In addition, in this period the average annual deforestation increased by 59.5% in relation to the previous four years and increased by 75.5% in relation to the previous decade.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a health emergency in Yanomami land at the end of January, after recording numerous cases of child deaths due to malnutrition.
He also authorized a joint operation by the Armed Forces and other institutions to expel the invaders from that land.