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This edition of SEJUP focuses on the indigenous situation in Brazil. The material is taken from CIMI (Indigenous Mission Council) and the National Fraternity Campaign text and website (Feb. 28, 2002).

NATIONAL FRATERNITY CAMPAIGN THEME IS "FRATERNITY AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"  WITH THE MOTTO "FOR A LAND WITHOUT EVIL."

Egon Heck, the executive secretary of Cimi (Indigenous Mission Council) explained that the overall objective of the campaign is to pay off the social debt of the Church in relation to indigenous people and to invite all Brazilians to show solidarity toward them and to fight prejudice and the marginalization of indigenous peoples by defending their rights.

The CF 2002 has six specific objectives: support the demarcation of indigenous lands and the approval of the Statute of Indigenous Peoples;  demand concrete actions in favor of indigenous peoples from the federal administration; fight the prejudice that marginalizes indigenous citizens and humiliates them; create a space for reflection and discussions about our diversity and wealth; promote a dialogue with other groups that work with indigenous peoples and, finally, enhance the involvement of international groups that are responsive to the indigenous cause.

The campaign intends to encourage Brazilians to learn from the cultural wealth and wisdom of indigenous people, for whom community values and solidarity are a way of life and who respect the earth as a source of resources for the survival of all beings. Collective use of the land is based on reciprocity and production is based on the necessities and well-being of others and not on profit. The land is life and the space where indigenous peoples encounter the spirit of the ancestors and where they experience their rituals and contact with God. Xicão Xukuru, the indigenous leader assassinated in 1988, explained: "Land, for us, is like our mother. It is she who offers the fruits of our survival. Her waters, rocks and forests should be honored and preserved."

Social organizations of indigenous peoples secure the rights of all and not the privileges or interests of a few. In the words of Nailton Muniz, an indigenous of the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe, "They say that we are not civilized. We are civilized, but not like non-indigenous people. Each people has a way of being. When we arrive in a Brazilian city today, we see many people who say they are civilized but who mistreat their fellow human beings, who let their children beg and suffer difficulties. We see much luxury when we enter public buildings; yet, right outside there are people who are hungry and poor. If we lose our lands, one of the fears that we have is to see our indigenous people begging on the streets and sleeping underneath the bridges. We think differently. We teach our children to share and to struggle. We don't let our people suffer. How can you watch your children living on the streets and eating from trash cans?  We share with those families who do not have food. We would not let another person go hungry if we had food. We eat together. Because of this, if our land is demarcated and in our hands, we have the conditions to acquire our own food and to share with others. We do not have jails in our villages. We have councils that guide our people. We are trying to educate our children to respect and obey the councils of the elders.  Non-indigenous society has to respect and understand our way of living.  We are not struggling against them; we also are part of this society, but also different."

STRUGGLE FOR LAND DEMARCATION:

One of the principal causes of violence against indigenous peoples is the greed for their lands. Eighty-five percent of indigenous lands (including demarcated lands) are under various types of invasion: mining, deforesting, colonization projects, building of roads, hydroelectric plants, transmission lines, waterways, creation of environmental conservation projects, etc.

The demarcation of indigenous lands is a drama that can be told in chapters. In 1973, the Indigenous Statute (Law 6001) established a term of 5 years for the demarcation of all indigenous lands. The Constitution of 1988 reaffirmed this limit (5 years). Meanwhile, 30 years have passed and only 35% of indigenous lands have concluded the process of demarcation. The demarcation of indigenous lands is a fundamental requirement for the indigenous population to multiply and keep their customs and traditions alive.

In the face of the government's slowness, indigenous people have found their own ways to move forward the process of demarcation. According to Xukuru indigenous teachers: "Since the authorities have not stopped the invasions of our lands, we have taken necessary steps to protect our lands. As our chief Xicão says: In order to retake our lands, we must have a process. Our land was in the hands of a very powerful city councilman and we ourselves were without resources and in a state of misery. Yet we succeeded in organizing with entities and, together with CIMI, we sought support from various international organizations. We succeeded in getting back our land and today we live a very different life." (Unfortunately, Chief Xicão suffered persecution because of his struggle to reclaim the land and was assassinated by a hired gunman on May 20, 1998).

"The first land to be recovered by the indigenous was 110 hectares of land in Pedra D'Água in November1990. This land had been illegally leased to invaders in the region who were implementing an agriculture project subsidized by the local mayor's office. The recovery of Pedra D'Agua was a decisive step in our struggle because it is in that forest area that our Sacred Stone of Ororubá is located. It is a sacred place where we gain strength to continue our struggle."

This indigenous area, Xukuru do Ororubá is composed of 7,842 inhabitants consisting of 1,807 families distributed in 23 villages. Conflicts over land worsened in the decade of the 1990´s. In February 1992, almost 1,000 Xukuru indigenous retook their land Caipe de Baixo (1,200 hectares) after years of complaints by them that large landholders were not allowing them to plant their crops.

When the son of an indigenous leader (José Everaldo Rodrigues Bispo) was assassinated in 1992, a group of Xukuru indigenous set fire to the large house and occupied the Fazenda Queimadas in Cana Brava.

In 1994, land was recovered in the indigenous village, Aldeia Pé de Serra.  Today, indigenous families live there and survive by growing vegetables and fruits.

In March, 1998, two 2 more indigenous lands were retaken: Fazenda Tionante and Sítio de Meio. This struggle continues and is a major priority of the Xukuru indigenous.

The omission of the government and the violence of this demarcation process have caused irreparable damage, great conflicts, the reduction of traditional indigenous areas and ecological disasters that will affect future generations.

It is important that we are clear about what happened during these 500 years of colonization and what were the results of that: the extermination of many indigenous peoples (genocide, slavery, destruction of their religiosity, economy and political life, and social exclusion). Indigenous people always reacted against the invaders and continue to heroically resist.

Retake the Land, Recover Hope

The recovery of indigenous land is a very significant action in the struggle for demarcation of land because it is an initiative of the proper indigenous communities. These communities are generally motivated by a "call" from the ancestors, the spirits of light. Three principles are articulated in the recovery of the land: the principle of reality, the principle of rupture, and the principle of hope. The struggle for land assumes the symbolic value of exodus and the search for a "land without evil", land which represents another model of life.

CHALLENGES

Today's challenges for indigenous people include:

• Create a network of allies to demand that the Federal Government pass laws that favor the indigenous people's lands, protect their environment, eliminate misery and malnutrition.
• Reflect on the roots of discrimination that marginalize and diminish indigenous peoples. Cultivate solidarity and respect for different ways of being, cultures, beliefs and traditions that enrich Brazil. It is important to that the media emphasize the difficulties facing the indigenous in Brazil: violence, the absence of the state in guaranteeing rights, invasion of lands, destruction of the environment, confinement of the indigenous communities in small reserves
• Inform international groups who are sensitive to the indigenous cause so that they may deepen reflections in their own countries regarding minorities, migrants and ethnic groups. This discussion should take into consideration the 40 million American indigenous and the 300 million indigenous on the planet. We need to consolidate support and solidarity for indigenous peoples.

CONTINUED THREATS

The "environmental flag" is used much more as a justification for public opinion than as an effective policy of preservation. As an example of this, we can emphasize the implantation of the recent federal government development plan, "Avança Brasil" (Advance Brazil). According to a study by Brazilian and North American scientists, this plan will provoke the destruction of 42% of the Brazilian Amazon in the next 20 years.  According to the same study, only 4.7% of the Amazon forest will remain intact in the year 2020.

GLOBALIZATION

As other sectors of the Brazilian population, indigenous people are victims of extreme poverty, sickness, high index of illiteracy, malnutrition, alcoholism, and violence. They are subjected to discrimination and social, cultural and ethnic segregation. This domination now has a new face:  globalization that is based on the private appropriation of resources and land, the exploitation of the work force, and the expansion of a homogenous and integrated "market". Some models of globalization desire to open the country to multinational finances and external interests, to demolish the state and dramatically reduce public investments in social programs such as education, health care, and housing. This economic model leads to violent social exclusion, disrespect for human rights and exploitation without limits of natural resources with disastrous repercussions for future generations.

The year 2000 was full of popular protests as well as commemorations.  These events showed distinctly different models of society. One model is the one in which we live where there is great inequality in income; a small group who own and control the country´s resources. However, there are other models and proposals for Brazilian society. These models are generated by popular struggles, by those who share the "bread", the suffering, and the dream for a future utopia based upon equality and fraternity.

The March and Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Coroa Vermelha, Bahia in April, 2000 united representatives of more than 140 peoples from all over Brazil. They met in the same location where the European invasion of Brazil began in 1500. This manifestation of indigenous peoples was a strong symbol for all Brazilians and was the fruit of many local manifestations throughout the country. The diversity of the indigenous peoples showed the pluralities of cultures, languages and traditions that are a great richness in Brazilian society.

Unfortunately, in Porto Seguro on April 22, a peaceful protest march of indigenous peoples against the official 500 years' celebrations was strongly repressed by the police and the march ended in violence. The same authorities who left profound marks on indigenous history for 500 years continue the same repression.

HEALTH THREAT

The health system available to indigenous peoples has been deeply affected by changes in the governmental policy in relation to the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts (DSEIs). Cuts in the budget for joint activities with indigenous organizations and NGOs may lead to the adoption of standardized salaries and to the dismissal of middle-level technicians (nursing assistants and health agents) who will not be able to be hired again in the future.

In a public note, Cimi points out that the dismantling of the DSEIs "is part of the strategy of the government, which expects to kill many rabbits with one stone: discrediting and demobilizing indigenous organizations, accusing them of improper handling of resources, as a result of which they will not act as inspectors of the obligations of the government any longer and will begin to be inspected by it in a complete inversion of roles. The perverse and cynical conclusion one could reach is that this 'evidence' that indigenous people cannot manage health actions confirms that the DSEIs are not feasible." Situations like this will be denounced throughout the fraternity campaign with the hope that, together with indigenous peoples, we will be able to move on to conquer a "Land Without Evil".

LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN

We invite you, SEJUP readers, to join us in a letter-writing campaign to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Let us support the campaigns to approve the proposed law entitled "Statutes of Indigenous Peoples". Listed below is a sample letter:

President Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Palácio do Planalto
Brasília, Distrito Federal
Brazil

February 28, 2002

Dear President Cardoso:

I am writing to express my support for the proposed law entitled the "Statutes of Indigenous Peoples". This law expresses the rights and interests of indigenous peoples as expressed in the Brazilian Federal Constitution. I ask that the following rights be implemented immediately by the government:

• the guarantee and protection of indigenous lands;
• the demarcation of sufficient land areas for the life and growth of indigenous families;
• the return of territories to the diverse indigenous peoples;
• the recognition of resurfacing indigenous peoples and their territories; 
• the immediate removal of invaders from demarcated lands, providing for the recuperation of the damaged land and water areas;
• the investigation of crimes committed against indigenous peoples, including sterilization imposed upon indigenous women in the last 20 years, and the punishment of those responsible for this.

Since only 35% of indigenous communities have completed the demarcation process, I ask that you immediately implement a process to ensure that all indigenous lands are demarcated and protected from invaders.

Sincerely,

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