The struggle for indigenous rights

Indigenous people's rights are being undermined and ignored by the rich and powerful [CAFOD]

Under constant threat of destruction of their society, environment, livelihoods, and at times even their lives, Brazil’s indigenous people are learning their constitutional rights

by Lorna Fielding

Today there are around 600,000 indigenous people in Brazil, from 225 ethnic groups, speaking 180 different known languages.

But during the 16th century when invaders from Europe arrived in Brazil, there were more than 1,000 different indigenous peoples – up to almost four million people.

In 1988, Brazil’s new constitution granted legal rights to indigenous people for the first time, assuring a respect for their customs, languages, beliefs and traditions.

This constitution also enshrined their right to live peacefully on their traditional lands without invasion from non-indigenous people.

But the process of land demarcation of traditional indigenous territories (Terras Indígenas) that followed has been slow, and, 20 years on, one-third of indigenous land is still to complete the process of legal demarcation and registration.

Land and conflict

While guaranteed under the constitution, the rights of indigenous people are constantly being undermined and ignored by the rich and powerful.

Traditionally, the Brazilian elite has consisted of large-scale farmers and cattle ranchers who farm enormous tracts of land throughout the Amazon.

Since the 1970s, in a drive to expand the economy, roads and dams were built in the Amazon, which brought logging companies and, more recently, soya plantations into traditional indigenous territories.

This increasing incursion of outside influences has caused segregation of communities and traditional ways of life.

It has pushed some communities further from their traditional land and has led to deaths through contact with illnesses to which the indigenous people are not immune.

Many agriculturalists are strong opponents of the rights gained by Brazil’s indigenous people, especially where land that these people took by force is now being given back to the original inhabitants, the indigenous communities.

Those who stand up for indigenous rights, including indigenous leaders, risk serious conflict with these groups. On July 23, 2007, one indigenous leader Ortiz Lopes was shot as he answered his door to an unknown man. The man delivered a chilling message: "The farmers sent me to make it even with you”.

Survival of the rainforest

Large infrastructure projects such as this 100km-long dam in Rondonia are contributing to deforestation of the rainforest [CAFOD]

With the presidential election of Workers Party leader Lula da Silva in 2002, many hoped that indigenous rights would finally come to the political fore.

However, progress has been disappointing; Lula has implemented policies that favour large-scale agro-business and infrastructure projects over sustainable development alternatives.

Such policies have also contributed to the environmental degradation of the Amazon.

As awareness of the effects of climate change increases, the value of alternative sustainable methods of development is becoming more widely appreciated.

There is much to learn from indigenous communities who have been living in harmony with the land and the environment for centuries.

In areas where land is demarcated and is controlled and managed by the indigenous communities, the biodiversity of the Amazon is preserved and deforestation is much less than in non-protected areas.

Securing indigenous territories and allowing sustainable development will guarantee the survival of the rainforest.

Protecting rights

While those who oppose indigenous rights wield economic and political influence, many indigenous people remain unaware of their rights as citizens and as members of indigenous communities.

Advocacy and awareness raising are key to ensuring that indigenous rights are lived out by the people, that they are aware of their constitutional rights and that they are able to ensure these rights are fulfilled.

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