Your support is vital if the Indians of Raposa Serra do Sol are to survive. There are many ways you can help. <ul class="actionlinks"><li><a href="/donate">Donate to the campaign for the Indians of Raposa Serra do Sol</a> (and other Survival campaigns).</li><li><a href="http://www.writetothem.com/">Write to your MP or MEP</a> (UK) or <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/">Senators and members of Congress</a> (US).</li><li>Write to your <a href="http://www.embassiesabroad.com/">local Brazilian high commission or embassy</a>.</li><li>If you want to get more involved, <a href="../../../../../contact.php">contact Survival…</a></li> </ul>

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Brutal farmers make Indian land grab

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The peoples of Raposa-Serra do Sol are under attack from violent farmers. Vicious attacks have shaken their communities as the state government refuses to uphold the law.

How do they live? The Makuxi are a hunting and farming people living in the hilly border country between Brazil and Guyana. It is a spectacularly beautiful region of mountains, tropical forest and savanna, where they raise cattle. During the long dry summer months, they hunt, fish in any rivers that are not dried up, and visit neighbouring villages. This is also when they build and repair their houses, which they make from wood, clay and palm leaves. The winter, from May to September, is a period of very heavy rain, making many of their summer activities impossible. Makuxi communities vary greatly in size, and are based on ties of marriage and family - when Makuxi marry, the couple live in the bride's family's village. Extended families hunt together, but each household grows its own crops for personal use. What problems do they face? The Makuxi have endured vicious violence and the theft of their land since colonisation in the 18th century. Today, they suffer particularly from the invasion of a group of rice farmers, who not only destroy their land, and expose them to disease, but also intimidate them with extreme violence. Survival's long campaign for Makuxi land rights reached a triumphant conclusion on 15 April 2005, when Brazil's President signed into law the ratification (legal protection) of their land, a spectacular area of savannahs, mountains and waterfalls. The territory, called Raposa-Serra do Sol, had been the object of a sustained and violent campaign by local ranchers and settlers to stop the Indians winning it back. Over twenty Indians had been killed and hundreds injured during the Indians' tireless struggle to reclaim their ancestral land. Whilst most ranchers and some rice farmers have now left the territory on receipt of compensation from the government, a group of rice farmers refuses to leave despite various attempts by the police to remove them. Their illegal actions are supported by a group of powerful local politicians. How can I help? Click <a target="_self" href="/actnow/writealetter/raposa">here</a> to write a letter to the Brazilian head of the Supreme Court who is involved in the matter. Click <a target="_self" href="/how_to_help.php?howto_help_id=1">here</a> to donate to Survival. Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.writetothem.com/">here</a> to write to your MP or MEP (UK). Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/">here</a> to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US). Write to your local Brazilian embassy, click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.embassiesabroad.com/">here</a> to find out the address.

The Makuxi, Wapixana, Ingarikó, Taurepang and Patamona peoples inhabit a land called Raposa-Serra do Sol in the north of Brazil, on the border with Venezuela and Guyana. It is a spectacularly beautiful region of mountains, tropical forest, savanna, rivers and waterfalls. The territory is about 1.7 million hectares and is home to approximately 18,000 - 20,000 Indians. Despite having had contact with outsiders for over two centuries, the Indians maintain their languages and customs. Many communities run their own education and health projects and have set up several organisations to defend their rights and help run their projects. h2. Latest threats After years of campaigning led by the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), Survival and many NGOs in Brazil and elsewhere, Raposa-Serra do Sol was signed into law by President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva on 15 April 2005. There was much jubilation at this milestone as the territory had been the object of a sustained and violent campaign by local ranchers and settlers to stop the Indians winning it back. In the last three decades over twenty Indians had been killed and hundreds injured during the Indians' tireless struggle to reclaim their ancestral land. Whilst most ranchers and some rice farmers have now left the territory on receipt of compensation from the government, a small group of rice farmers refuses to leave despite various attempts by the police to remove them. Their illegal actions are supported by a group of powerful local politicians. Since April 2008, they have resorted to increasingly violent tactics, shooting and wounding at least 10 Indians, burning bridges to prevent Indians entering or leaving their land, and throwing a bomb into one community. The government of Roraima state lodged a petition in Brazil’s Supreme Court contesting the federal government’s official recognition of the Raposa-Serra dol Sol and demanding that it be reduced in size. Nearly 20,000 Indians live in the territory and rely on the land and rivers for their livelihood and economic development, yet the six farmers and local politicians claim that they are obstacles to the development of Roraima state. h2. Recent history Since the eighteenth century, the indigenous peoples of Raposa-Serra do Sol have fought for their land rights against waves of violent invasions, colonisation and attempts to resettle them. Against all odds they have managed to hold on to their ancestral land. Cattle ranchers occupied their land in the 20th century setting up large ranches which were routinely patrolled by gunmen who subjected Indians to much violence - at least 20 Indians were assassinated in the 1980s and 1990s. Wildcat miners also illegally invaded in the territory prospecting for gold and diamonds, which resulted in pollution of rivers and tensions with communities. More recently despite protests from the Indians, several small towns have been built by settlers in the area, and the military have built a barracks right next to the indigenous community of Uiramutã. In 1996 a large group of farmers invaded Raposa-Serra do Sol to plant rice fields. They used large amounts of pesticides which leaked in to the rivers and streams used by the Indians for bathing, cooking and drinking water. In the last decade they have resorted to terrorist-like tactics, destroying indigenous property, threatening leaders and setting fire to indigenous schools. h2. How does Survival help? Survival has launched an urgent campaign to support the indigenous peoples of Raposa-Serra do Sol. This is a hugely emblematic case and could have wide repercussions. If the Supreme Court rules in favour of the farmers, the Indians will lose some of their most fertile land and be permanently surrounded by hostile armed outsiders and exposed to constant intimidation and violence. If Raposa-Serra do Sol is reduced in size and carved in to tiny islands this will set a precedent and mean that other indigenous territories, such as the Yanomami territory in the west of Roraima state could also be opened to challenge. The Supreme Court is likely to rule on the case in July or August. Please send a polite letter to:

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the Indians of Raposa–Serra do Sol

http://bit.ly/H2HtA

raposa

Indians of Raposa–Serra do Sol

2009-05-29T17:54:16+01:00