Brazil Indigenous People Indians Survival International ngo; publishing and advocacy; brazilian page; UnitedNations Commission on Human Rights indigenous peoples page, working groups http://www.brazilink.org/nativepeople.html
Extractions: Human Rights Rural Issues Environment links New E-Library More Coming Soon Academia back to top home NGOs ANAI- news (national and local) and full-text articles Amazon Link : from Acre; English, Spanish, French and German Centro de Trabalho Indigenista papers (partial access) and news; English version CIMI publications (reports, documents, etc.) COIAB -CCPY: news, documents, oral history, art : land rights, gender, education and health
Brazilian Indian Music & Books: The Indigenous Peoples Of Brazil Techno Forro Funk/Soul Historic indigenous International JazzMeetsBrazil BrazilianIndian Music CDs Books. The Amazon Pantanal indigenous peoples of Brazil. http://www.thebraziliansound.com/indian.htm
Extractions: May 30, 2001 BRASILIA, BRAZIL, May 30, 2001 (ENS) - Leaders of the Apinaje, Kraho, Xerente, Tapuia, and Karaja indigenous peoples gathered from May 24 to 28 at the Boto Velho village on the Bananal Island to discuss the impacts of large development projects on indigenous areas in the region. The indigenous peoples are meeting to strengthen their common position in relation to the impact of these large projects on their lives. This week's gathering is the first of a series of meetings to be held in the states of Goias and Tocantins, according to the Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI). Meetings are scheduled to take place in June in the Tapuia village in Goias, and the Xerente and Apinaje villages in Tocantins. The indigenous peoples of this region are suffering the effects of activities ranging from the construction of dams and hydroelectric power plants to waterways like the Tocantins-Araguaia waterway. The official purpose of the Tocantins-Araguaia waterway is to facilitate river navigation in the eastern Amazon, connecting the central western region of Brazil with Atlantic ports in Brazil's northeast. Authorities say the project would promote agricultural development in Brazil's heartland and in the eastern Amazon by allowing access to markets of grains, fuel and fertilizers.
RF-US Kids Page-Rainforests And Indigenous People the entire brazilian Amazon, and host a high degree of preservation, in additionto a social and cultural diversity represented by the indigenous peoples who http://www.rainforestfoundation.org/1indigenouspeople.html
Extractions: Rainforests and Indigenous Peoples Indigenous lands are important for the conservation of biodiversity in the Amazon. They comprise over 20% of the entire Brazilian Amazon, and host a high degree of preservation, in addition to a social and cultural diversity represented by the Indigenous peoples who live in the region. Suriname is one of the most forested and biologically diverse countries on Earth, with between 80-90% of its territory covered by tropical rainforest. It is also home to 9 distinct Indigenous peoples, who occupy much of this area. The lands of the Trio people alone cover almost a third of the country.
Indigenous Peoples AIDS is not uniformly spread among the brazilian population who have sex with men,the indigenous populations, drug injecting drug users) and people living with http://www.unaids.org/en/in focus/topic areas/indigenous peoples.asp
OneWorld News Service - Indigenous Peoples ENVIRONMENT/indigenous peoples Strong Winds Stoke Fires in brazilian YanomamiReserve. brazilian rainforests and indigenous peoples again under threat http://www.oneworld.org/news/world/indigenous.html
Extractions: From Environment News Service (ENS), featured on the OneWorld News Service 17 May 1999 INDIGENOUS RIGHTS/US: Whale hunt piles pressure on prosecutor A prosecutor in Washington state is seeking federal help to deal with a battery of legal actions against a controversial whale hunt which began this week.
Extractions: Brazil: The struggle of the Pataxó indigenous peoples in Bahia More than a year ago, the Pataxó indigenous peoples re-took an important part of their traditional territory located in the state of Bahia (see WRM Special Bulletin May 2000). Since then, they have been struggling to have their rights recognized by the government, with little support from environmental organizations, many of whom seem to deny them their capacity to manage the forest that rightly belongs to them. Within such context, it is important to highlight the Brazilian Anthropologic Society's position, which has recently criticised the Ministry of the Environment for its promotion of projects in the area before the demarcation of the Pataxó's lands is finalized. In a letter addressed to the government, the Coordinator of the Commission for Indigenous Affairs of the Anthropologic Society anthropologist Silvio Coelho dos Santos expressed that "without even knowing the extention and demarcation of the territory traditionally occupied by the Pataxó there cannot be sufficient information on which to base the adequate support to self-sufficiency for the indigenous villages." This position is extremely important at his moment, when there appears to be a systematic movement against the indigenous presence within conservation areas. This is the case of the Pataxó, whose traditional territory was declared the Monte Pascoal National Park following their violent expulsion in 1961. After the indigenous people re-took their land in August 1999, the government established a Technical Working Group to carry out the demarcation of the Pataxó areas. However, due to political pressures, the work of the Technical Group was never finalized.
MM March 1996 By rewriting the law, the brazilian government is making it possible for and pristineareas that have long been the sacred homeland of indigenous peoples. http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/mm0396.03.html
Extractions: ON JANUARY 8, 1996, Brazil 's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso signed into law Decree 1775, dubbed the "Genocide Decree" by human rights activists. The new decree reverses the tenets of existing laws that protect indigenous people by allowing commercial interests to protest the demarcation of land as indigenous territory. Brazilian indigenous and environmental groups and international indigenous rights organizations charge that the new law will undermine the rights of indigenous people to their traditional lands as guaranteed in Brazil's constitution, and could strip local communities of control of the natural resources on which they depend. Furthermore, they say, formal challenges by commercial interests to demarcation decisions will compromise the already slow process of establishing additional indigenous reserves and may call into question the legitimacy of existing ones. "Decree 1775 is more than a setback; it's a death sentence for many indigenous groups," said the Brazil-based Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon. Alarmed by the serious situation facing indigenous groups in Brazil, the Organization of American States (OAS) is already compiling a report to President Cardoso's government that directs the state to respect human rights. And the international groups that form the Amazon Coalition have mounted a campaign to urge President Cardoso to revoke the Genocide Decree.
New Page 1 beliefs, traditions and grants to the indigenous peoples the original rights tothe lands they traditionally occupy. brazilian indigenous lands cover 947,011 http://www.un.int/brazil/speech/02d-mlrv-57agnu-indigenas-2110.htm
Extractions: Third Committee - Item 106 - "Programme of Activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People" Statement by Mrs. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti Minister Plenipotentiary of the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the UN New York, 21 October 2002 Mr. Chairman, Brazil reaffirms its support to the implementation of the Programme of Activities of the International Decade of the Worlds Indigenous People and welcomes the Secretary Generals report A/57/395 The establishment of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which held its first historic session last May, has put this important topic in its rightful place in the international agenda. The Forum will be a catalyst for a broad-based partnership, involving governments, specialized agencies of the UN system, other relevant international and regional organizations, indigenous peoples as well as civil society at large. The unique and innovative features of the Forum will allow its members to offer a decisive contribution to the realization of indigenous rights and to the sustainable development of their communities. Given the importance of its work and the wide scope of its mandate - provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues, raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of indigenous activities in the UN system, disseminate information on indigenous issues -, it is essential to ensure as a matter of urgency that a firm and predictable institutional basis be put in place to support the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. We have already agreed that a secretariat within the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat in New York will assist the Forum in carrying out its mandate.
New Page 1 My delegation has repeatedly reaffirmed the brazilian Governments commitment tothe promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples, which in Brazil amount to http://www.un.int/brazil/speech/01d-del-56agnu-indigenous-peoples-2910.htm
Extractions: "Third Committee - Programme of Activities of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People" Statement by the Brazilian Delegation New York, 29 October 2001 Mr. Chairman, Indigenous communities constitute differentiated cultural groups whose dignity should be respected. The empowerment of such communities to exercise their rights and freedoms has proved be the best way to promote harmony in a national setting. We have learnt by experience that national societies benefit immensely from cultural diversity as a source of mutual respect and promotion of universal human rights. My delegation has repeatedly reaffirmed the Brazilian Governments commitment to the promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples, which in Brazil amount to around 350 thousand individuals. Over 210 ethnic groups and about 170 different languages compose the extremely rich mosaic of indigenous cultures in Brazil. Contrary to what was predicted in the 50s, the Brazilian indigenous population has not decreased over the years. In fact, we have witnessed a steady increase in the indigenous population, whose demographic recovery is due to not only higher birth rates but also higher life expectancy.
Indigenous Peoples & 3W For indigenous, they can bring utter devastation. In 1960, the developmentalist brazilian government bulldozed homeland of the Nambiquara people, allowing an http://www.thirdway.org/files/world/all3wnow.html
Extractions: INDIGENOUS If now I sit once more for a brief quarter hour on the parapet of the bridge from which as a child I dangled my fishing line a thousand times, I am powerfully gripped by an awareness of how beautiful and remarkable was the experience of possessing a place to call my own. Just once to have known in one small corner of the globe each house and every window in them, and every person behind each window! Just once to have felt inseparable from a particular corner of the world, much as a tree is bound by its roots to its own particular spot. Herman Hesse The ahatai [settlers] have always coveted Llakha Honhat [Our Land], and they have used deceit and violence in order to take it from us. ... They did not plant the trees; they do not keep the bees; the wild animals and fish do not belong to them. ... We have always lived here, since the time of creation we are as much a part of Llakha Honhat as the trees that grow on it. Our land belongs to us because we belong to the land. Oral History of the Wichi Indians (Northern Argentina) Our roots are deep in the lands where we live. We have a great love for our country, for our birthplace is here. The soil is rich from the bones of thousands of our generations. Each of us was created in these lands and it is our duty to take care of them, because from these lands will spring the future generations of our peoples. We will walk about with great respect for the Earth, for it is a very Sacred Place.
Amazonia a day of defeat, a day reflecting the way in which the brazilian government treatsits people, particularly the original inhabitants the indigenous peoples. http://www.amazonia.net/Articles/393.htm
Extractions: Brazil: the same as 500 years ago? WRM Bulletin 33, April 2000 Five hundred years ago, Portuguese conquistadores in shining armour used their modern weapons against indigenous peoples armed with bows and arrows. Now, police in shining riot gear used their modern weapons against unarmed civilians including indigenous, black and white people protesting against the official celebration of the arrival of the Portuguese in 1500. The photographs are self explanatory (see photos at http://www.wrm.org.uy/english/tropical_forests/photospataxo2.html ). The reason? Again the "indians". Towards the end of March this year, indigenous peoples throughout the country left their villages and began to travel in the direction of Porto Seguro, the place where Brazil was allegedly "discovered", thus going in the opposite direction of the one taken in 1500 by the European colonizers. Within an atmosphere of expectation, on April 15 most of them gathered together at Monte Pascoal, the National Park re-taken last year by the Pataxo, which then became a strong symbol of the struggle of all the indigenous peoples of the country, where still more than half of their lands have not yet been demarcated. More than 1500 indigenous people joined the 22 Pataxo families and celebrated the meeting with rituals, songs and speeches, giving their total support to the struggle of the Pataxo. On April 7th, they all headed for the village of Coroa Vermelha, in Pataxo territory, distant some 200 kilometres from Monte Pascoal and near the site of the "discovery": Porto Seguro. More than 30 buses which were carrying them were stopped by the first of many police blockades set up by the government to assure "public security", involving more than 5000 military police. The buses were only allowed to continue as a result of the direct intervention of the country's General Attorney. Having finally arrived at Coroa Vermelha, on the following day they opened the Indigenous Conference 2000, counting with the presence of 2500 representatives from 186 different indigenous peoples from all over the country, thus being the largest indigenous meeting held in the whole history of Brazil.
Amazonia In spite of this, the brazilian indigenous National Fund (FUNAI), instead of protectingthe indigenous peoples rights as it is mandated to- is now trying to http://www.amazonia.net/Articles/344.htm
Extractions: Brazil: Pataxo recover traditional lands WRM Bulletin 26 August 1999 Brazil will soon celebrate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Portuguese. Nevertheless, for the indigenous peoples living in what later became Brazil, this is not a day for celebration. The arrival of the Europeans meant the beginning of their genocide and the destruction of the environment in the rich land of the "pau Brazil". When Brazil became an independent state, the situation of indigenous peoples did not improve and in many cases became even worse. The Federal Constitution of 1988 finally recognized the indigenous peoples' cultural and territorial rights, but they are in fact more often than not ignored. Last August 19, the Pataxo indigenous people, who live in the southern region of the state of Bahia, decided to recover Monte Pascoal National Park, which is part of their traditional territory. The presence of the Pataxo in the region was already documented in year 1500 and later by several historical testimonies from 1805 on. They had lived in that area until 1951 when they were victims of a massacre. The survivors were expelled from their land and confined in areas where they lived in misery and humiliation. This was yet another dark episode in Brazilian history which, as many others where the victims were black slaves or landless peasants, was soon hidden and forgotten. The Pataxo's traditional territory was later transformed into Monte Pascoal National Park, allegedly with the aim of protecting the Mata Atlantica forest.
Extractions: Brazilian policies on Indigenous Peoples Resolution of the Climate Alliance´s General Assembly of 26.3.1996 The Climate Alliance Municipalities already responded two years ago to the request of the indigenous peoples of Brazil to support them in their struggle to ensure observation of Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution. This constitutional article guarantees to the indigenous peoples the right to their territory, and provides for a swift geographical demarcation of these territories. At the time, the Member Municipalities expressed their support in letters to the Brazilian President. While the 1988 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil requires the swift demarcation of all indigenous territories, this process is stagnating in an unacceptable manner - to the detriment of the affected communities. The latest political decisions even indicate a serious retrogression. In this connection, the organizations of Brazilian indigenous peoples and numerous other non- governmental organizations criticize most vehemently the issuance of Decree No. 1775/96 and Ministerial Ordinance 14/96, which alter the basis of the demarcation of indigenous land in favour of third parties, in particular by granting an also retroactive right to object. Indigenous organizations and the Member Municipalities of the Climate Alliance fear that the situation of many of the Brazilian indigenous peoples will deteriorate, e.g. through the diminution of their territories, the delaying of demarcation, or through new encroachments upon their land. Since the beginning of the debate on the Decree's amendment, and particularly since it was signed, increased invasions upon unprotected indigenous lands are to be observed, without the Brazilian government taking steps against this in the form that would be called for. The view is widely accepted that the new legal situation evidently even encourages these encroachments.
BRAZILIAN RAINFORESTS In 1988, in its new democratic constitution, the brazilian state finallyagreed to recognize the rights of its indigenous peoples. http://www.lightparty.com/Economic/BrazilianRainforest.html
Extractions: FOR YOUR INFORMATION FROM THE LIGHT PARTY BRAZILIAN RAINFORESTS The New Threat Brazil's indigenous peoples are the guardians of the ancient rainforests. But they could soon lose their lands. The indigenous peoples of Brazil have one of the most tragic histories of any of the world's peoples. Since the arrival of the first European invaders 500 years ago, they have seen their lands stolen, their traditions destroyed and their people murdered. More than 80 indigenous cultures have been wiped out in the Amazon since the beginning of this century. Only recently has real hope appeared for their future. In 1988, in its new democratic constitution, the Brazilian state finally agreed to recognize the rights of its indigenous peoples. 'Decree 22/91' guaranteed Brazilian Indians' permanent rights to lands traditionally occupied by them, and required that all these lands be 'demarcated' by 1993. Indians living in demarcated areas have the right to live, free from outside interference, according to their own customs and laws. Demarcation is not only a question of land rights, it is also one of the best ways to protect the Amazon rainforests. The Indians have the skills, the knowledge and the incentive to preserve the forests they have relied on for their livelihoods for thousands of years.
Brazil Indigenous The future of indigenous peoples in Brazil is still uncertain. The following isa list of brazilian contemporary indigenous peoples, in alphabetical order. http://edtech.tennessee.edu/itc/grants/twt2000/modules/mferrei1/brazil indigenou
Extractions: Terena youth during the Bate-Pau Ceremony, celebrating the Indian Day, April 19, 1999, on the Arariba Reservation in Sao Paulo, southern Brazil. Photo: Mariana Ferreira "When you say that approximately six million people died in the concentration camps, the names and date of death of most are known. We indigenous peoples remember nearly six million brothers and sisters who were exterminated, and in most cases there is absolutely no information about these massacres It was a silent and continuos extermination, which carries on even today." Nailton Pataxo on visiting a Nazi concentration camp, 2000 (Disinherited IndiansBrazil. S urvivalInternational). There are 215 indigenous peoples in Brazil today, who have different degrees of contact with segments of the Brazilian society , totaling a population of approximately 300,000 individuals. They live in thousands of villages throughout the country.Such data, however, do not represent absolute figures. The exact number of peoples and native tongues is still unknown. Of the 215 ethnicities listed below (out of over a thousand which existed in these shores when the Europeans first came), and of the 170 native tongues existing in Brazil today, perhaps only half of them have been subjected to basic investigation by ethnologists or linguists. Despite contacts with segments of Brazilian society , these peoples uphold their own identity, establish themselves as groups of differentiated ethnicities and have their own cultural knowledges and practices. Some have forgotten their native tongues and speak only Portuguese. Others have already incorporated industrialized goods and services to their daily lives. But there are also peoples who keep their distance from non-Indians. Oficially speaking, an Indian in Brazil today is the individual who identifies himself and is recognized by the members of his community as one of their own, keeping historical links with pre-Colombian populations.
Witness Statement - Fiona Watson displacement if indigenous peoples from their lands, to which they have originaland inalienable rights as enshrined in the brazilian Constitution (article 231 http://www.mcspotlight.org/people/witnesses/environment/watson_fiona.html
Extractions: Cattle ranching in the Amazon had an extremely negative impact on a number of indigenous peoples in the region known as Amazonia Legal. It is in fact, one of the most important causes of both rainforest destruction and the invasion of indigenous people's lands in the Amazonian rainforest as a whole. cv: I am Campaigns Coordinator for Survival International, a woldwide organisation which defends the rights of indigenous peoples. I have special responsibilty for Brazil, Venezuala and Guyana. I have worked for Survival for nearly six years and in that time hav made three field trips to Brazil each lasting 2-3 months whaere I have travelled extensively in the Amazon and elsewhere. The main focus of these trips was to visit indigenous communities to assess and discuss with indigenous people their concerns and problems. Prior to my work with Survival, I worked on an ecological project in the Amazon organised by the Royal Geographical Society, London, and the Institute of Amazon Research (INPA) Manaus. During this project I lived in the Amazon state of Roraima for 14 months. After the field phase I returned to Britain and was responsible for researching for an education pack on the Amazon based on the project's research and aimed at G.C.S.E. This won the gold medal at the Geographical Associations Annual Awards in 1993. Full cv:
Extractions: Health needs of indigenous people stressed at Permanent Forum 16 May - The "acute health needs" of indigenous peoples cut across socio-economic boundaries, Permanent Forum member Mililani Trask today told the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as it continued its discussion on the theme of health. Summarizing the statements of several participants, Ms. Trask (United States) said underlying causes of poor health for indigenous people included colonization, homelessness, poor housing, poverty, lack of reproductive health rights, domestic violence and addiction. Health care should be envisaged from an indigenous perspective, which encompassed mental, physical and spiritual health. There was a direct relationship between land use and indigenous health. Indigenous women and children had special needs, including expanding immunization and combating domestic abuse and addiction. In formulating the Forum's recommendations, Ms. Trask said Forum members should work with the United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other United Nations agencies to ensure better coordination and delivery of health programmes for indigenous communities. United Nations agencies should identify focal points for indigenous issues within their secretariats. The call for a Global Plan of Action for Indigenous Health had not been heeded, and a second International Decade of the World's Indigenous people could help ensure a more integrated approach to health.
CTI - Centre Of Service For The Indigenous Peoples Starting in 1981, some legal actions of CTI on behalf of the rights of indigenouspeople in Brazil made legal history and became part of brazilian legislation. http://www.trabalhoindigenista.org.br/eng/ctiinfo.asp
Extractions: Foto/D. Gallois How we work We work directly with indigenous communities, providing them with resources and technical advice through projects which have been developed and discussed together with the communities concerned. More than simple beneficiaries of the projects, the Indians are their co-authors and co-executers. The coordinators and advisors of the projects listen, learn, critically discuss and facilitate activities, while respecting the cultural particularities and expectations of the community. Our work is long term and characterized by continuity whilst at the same time being punctuated by various activities defined by the political and social context of the indigenous group. Our goal is to contribute so that indigenous communities effectively take control of each and every kind of intervention occurring within their territory. Furthermore, we strive to clarify for them the role played by the State in the protection and guarantee of their constitutional rights. MAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITY Monitoring of land tenure regulations and programs of territorial and environmental control These involve activities related to the identification and delimitation of indigenous territories in order to set in motion and monitor the regulation of land tenure and environmental preservation.