August 20, 2021

01:08

Cassandra Castro – from Cenarium

BRASILIA (DF) – A reflection about the achievements and challenges of the people who live in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land (RSS), in Roraima. The issue was addressed by indigenous leaders during an extraordinary public hearing jointly held by the Committees of Economic Development, Industry, Trade and Services and Human Rights and Minorities of the House of Representatives.

After several conflicts inside the area caused by disputes over land involving rice producers and the indigenous people, the original people won the right to a continuous demarcation of the reserve forest, an area of more than 1,700 thousand hectares, located north of Roraima.

Homologation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land was a milestone for the communities

For the federal lawmaker Joenia Wapichana (Rede/RR), one of the authors of the request to hold the hearing, the homologation and subsequent continuous demarcation of the reserve represented “a favorable environment for the strengthening and solidification of the communities’ life plans, especially with regard to environmental and territorial management under the specific guideline of customs, beliefs, and traditions.

The indigenous leaders who participated in the meeting used the space to demonstrate coordinated actions taken by the indigenous people who live in the reserve. About 25 thousand Makuxi, Taurepang, Ingarikó, Patamona and Wapichana indigenous people are distributed among 209 communities and talked about organic agriculture projects, cattle raising, cultivation of traditional seeds, fish farming and handcrafts.

The legal advisor of the Indigenous Council of Roraima, Ivo Cípio Aureliano, spoke about actions in the environmental sphere, such as the work done by the Indigenous Territorial and Environmental Agents and the performance of the Indigenous Brigades that combine traditional knowledge with technology, also keeping an eye on the issue of climate change.

Constant surveillance against attacks on indigenous rights

The coordinator of the Willimon/Raposa Serra do Sol Center, Amarildo da Silva Mota, also affirmed that the indigenous people are working in a sustainable way in the reserve, guaranteeing the survival of the families and preserving the environment.

He emphasized that even with these demonstrations of sustainable activities by the indigenous people, they continue to face the challenge of fighting against attacks by the legislative and even the federal government that threaten the constitutional rights of the original populations.

“There are several laws created like this one that proposes to liberate mining in indigenous land. We don’t accept any kind of project that changes what is already guaranteed to the indigenous people”, emphasized the Makuxi leader.

Another representative of the indigenous people, a member of the Sapará community, Alcebíades Constantino, emphasized the importance of dispelling an often generalized image that society has of the indigenous people. “We are not an obstacle to the development of the State of Roraima, we know how to manage our territories. It’s not because we use technology like cell phones, for example, that we will leave our indigenous essence,” said the state coordinator of Indigenous Youth of RR.

The public hearing takes place one week before the Fight for Life event, a national indigenous mobilization that will take place in Brasilia from August 22nd to 28th. The indigenous people will be in the federal capital to accompany the vote on the Temporal Landmark thesis, by the Supreme Court scheduled to begin on the 25th.