Newsletter no. 742
– Ministry of Justice must act to guarantee land to Krahô-Kanela people
– Indigenous people seize cargo of timber taken from indigenous land in the state of Acre
– Representatives of six indigenous peoples in the state of Mato Grosso discuss education and land issues
Ministry of Justice must act to guarantee land to Krahô-Kanela people
The hopes of the Krahô-Kanela people to finally live in their own land have been renewed. The Legal Advisory Department of the Ministry of Justice must submit a draft decree creating an indigenous reservation for the Krahô-Kanela in the state of Tocantins to the minister of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos. The minister, who decided in favor of creating the reservation, may sign the draft decree and submit it to the Civil House.
The Civil House will then analyze the document and submit it to the President of the Republic. The presidential decree needs be published in the Official Gazette by mid-December for a fund of R$ 8 million released in August by the National Land Reform Institute (Incra) specifically for creating the reservation not to be lost.
The three leaders of the Krahô-Kanela people who came to Brasília to try and settle the issue of legalizing their land will remain in the city until the process is completed. In their four-day pilgrimage in the National Congress, the indigenous people managed to secure the support from different senators and representatives.
Senator Paulo Paim (Workers’ Party/state of Rio Grande do Sul) said that he will call the Civil House as soon as the draft decree is submitted to that agency. In December 2005, Paim organized a public hearing at the Human Rights Committee of the Federal Senate to discuss the case of the Krahô-Kanela. He then attended a meeting which resulted in an agreement between Incra and Funai to create the reservation.
Precariousness and risk of conflicts
In August, about 90 Krahô-Kanela moved to the land, which they call Mata Alagada, located in the municipality of Lagoa da Confusão (state of Tocantins). They left the house they lived in for years, which was located in an old garbage dump.
Today, they are living in makeshift canvas tents which were torn apart by heavy rains which have been falling lately. The owner of the land, Marcos Vinícius Santana, prevented the indigenous people from building homes or growing crops there before they get their compensation payment for leaving the area.
For the time being, his relations with the indigenous people are peaceful. However, he said that he will file a repossession suit if the leaders return from Brasília before the expropriation decree is published in the Official Gazette.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE SEIZE CARGO OF TIMBER TAKEN FROM INDIGENOUS LAND IN THE STATE OF ACRE
On November 18, the Apolima-Arara people who live in the Arara do Amônia indigenous land seized a timber cargo that was being taken from their indigenous land. The timber cargo will only be released after Funai and Ibama propose a solution to this type of aggression against indigenous people.
The problem of timber exploitation by non-indigenous people in their lands is old and no effective measures have been so far to stop it. Recently, the Apolima-Arara held two staff members of the Environment Institute of the state of Acre (Imac) hostage at its premises for authorizing the removal of timber from their land. As a result of this action, a normative act was jointly issued by Ibama and Imac suspending the removal of timber from that land. The determinations of the normative act, however, were never complied with, because authorizations for exploiting timber in the indigenous land continue to be granted.
This time, the Apolima-Arara seized a boat of a storeowner in the city of Marechal Thaumaturgo which was transporting timber for Francisco Firmino Bezerra, the owner of a small local company. His employees who were in the boat said that they had a license from Ibama to transport the timber.
The climate in the region is once again tense. Until today (the 23rd), the indigenous people had not released the timber and the boat. They are waiting for Funai and Ibama to propose a definitive solution to the problem. The Federal Police will hold a hearing with representatives of these agencies and of the indigenous people to discuss the issue.
The Apolima-Arara said that they will seize other timber cargoes, because they don’t accept the fact that Ibama continues to authorize the removal of timber from an indigenous land which has not been demarcated yet.
Campaign
The Apolima-Arara have been fighting for the demarcation of their land since 1999 and they have faced many difficulties in this process, including many death threats against their leaders. Today, they are carrying out a national campaign for the demarcation of their land and are collecting signatures in a signed petition that will be delivered to the Minister of Justice and to the president of Funai.
Representatives of six indigenous peoples in the state of Mato Grosso discuss education and land issues
Hundreds of educators and political and religious leaders of six indigenous peoples will be gathered between November 23 (today) and 26 at the Tengatui indigenous school in the Bororo land, located in the municipality of Dourados, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, to hold the second Aty Guasu (Great Meeting) of Guarani-Kaiowá Teachers.
Besides the Guarani-Kaiowá from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Guarani educators coming from São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina will also attend the meeting. Thirty-five Javaé, Xerente, Krahô-Kanela, Krahô, and Apinajé leaders, coming from the state of Tocantins, will also be there.
The Guarani-Kaiowá teachers have ensured important achievements already, such as a differentiated indigenous education, the “Ará Verá” project, and the Teko Arandu (life with wisdom), course, which is the first university-level training course for indigenous teachers offered by the Federal University of Grande Dourados. In the two courses, which enjoy full autonomy to define their own curricula and methodologies, students and teachers discuss their future.
At the Aty Guasu meeting, the indigenous people will discuss the legal status of indigenous teachers as professionals and issues related to secondary education, professional education, and education for children. Key topics for these people, such as the demarcation of their lands and the exploitation of their labor in slavery-like conditions in sugarcane processing plants, will also be discussed.
According to professor Anastácio Peralta, from the Committee of Guarani-Kaiowá Leaders, the struggle of indigenous people and their holistic vision on education is what made it possible for their movement to ensure their achievements in the area of education. “The struggle for a differentiated education improves the lives of indigenous people as a whole, and it is through this struggle that our fight for our land, health, and rights will also succeed,” Peralta highlighted.
In memory of Marçal
On Saturday, November 25, at the City Council Dourados, civil society organizations will hold a demonstration in memory of the 23 years that have gone by since Marçal de Souza Tupã’i, a Guarani-Kaiowá leader, was violently killed as a result of his claims to the traditional lands of his people.
Brasília, November 23, 2006
