Toward a society wanted by the people

Participating Without fear of being a woman

We, indigenous women of the Tupinikim, Guarani, Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe, Tupinamba, Xacriabá and Maxacali – with the support of the Conselho Indigenista Missionário, Fórum de Mulheres do Espírito Santo, Rede Alerta Contra o Deserto Verde, Associação de Mulheres Unidas da Serra, Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores-ES, Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas-ES, Irmãs Combonianas e Missionárias Agostinianas Recoletas, present at the

FIRST INTERCHANGE MEETING FOR

INDIGENOUS WOMEN OF THE EASTERN REGION,

who, with the participation of 200 persons, occurred on June 11, 12 and 13 of 2009, in the Tupinikim Village of Irajá, Espirito Santo, hereby manifest our

INDIGNATION WITH THE SYSTEMATIC VIOLATION

OF THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BRAZIL,

and particularly of the Tupinambá de Olivença, practiced by ranchers, tourism entrepreneurs, by the municipal mayors of Buerarema, Ilhéus, Una, São José da Vitória and by the Association of Municipalities of the Region of Cacaueira (AMURC) of the South of Bahia, with the support of the local Judiciary and the Federal Police, that, in carrying out court orders, have invaded the Tupinambá villages and practiced all forms of violence against indigenous men and women:

*On October 20 of 2008, the Federal Police exceeded all reason in actions against the community, destroying schools and cars of the village of Serra do Padeiro, throwing out school lunches and food from homes (the boxes of milk provided by Program Zero [Hunger] were torn open and poured out). Following all of this, even shooting various indigenous men and women with rubber bullets, spreading terror and hopelessness among the Tupinambá;

*On May 30 of 2009, again, the Federal Police, seeking to disoccupy the area reoccupied by indians, carried out an attack against the population, burned, bound and tortured five indians, including using pepper spray and electric shock to take upon themselves authorship of  crimes they did not commit. Still today, the brother of the Cacique of Aldeia da Serra remains imprisoned.

All of these onslaughts are a reaction on part of the ranchers, the tourism enterprises and mayors opposed to the process of demarcation underway of the Tupinambá territory, which passed through the important step of publication of the Report of Identification of their land by FUNAI, on April 19, of 2009, recognizing 47,370 hectares of land in the region as indigenous lands.

In the case of Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe, who await the judgment of the Ação de Nulidade de Titulos Imobiliários, in the Supreme Court (which seeks nullify the property titles given by the state government to local large landholders), we express our profound SOLIDARITY in your struggle.

In this way, we extend our SOLIDARITY to other indigenous peoples, who are joined in a tireless and legitimate struggle for their traditional territories.

We would like also, in this statement to

ECHO THE CRY OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN

of the Eastern Region:

·                    We, women, claim, in addition to our territories, public policies in the areas of health and education, we demand that our traditional knowledge and practices in health be respected, particularly by governmental organs that are active within our villages. The women are bearers of a rich knowledge, which must be rescued and preserved for present and future generations;

·                    We, women, are great artisans and agriculturalists, with which we contribute to the subsistence of our family and our people, we demand policies that grant us conditions to continue to realize our work in dignified conditions;

·                    We demand the right not to suffer violence: violence at the hand of the State (Federal Police and others) and domestic violence. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many indigenous women, who dream of coming out of the silence and overcoming a life of violence. We call for an end to all forms of violence suffered by our people, and particularly for sisters and relatives.

For a life without violence

For respect for human rights of women and indigenous peoples of Brazil!

FOR SELF DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLES!