August 8, 2021

08:08

Cassandra Castro – from Cenarium

BRASILIA (DF) – On August 22, indigenous people from various parts of Brazil and even from abroad will be gathered in Brasilia for the National Indigenous Mobilization – Fight for Life. Until the 28th, the people present will closely follow the vote on the Temporal Landmark thesis, at the Federal Supreme Court, scheduled to begin on the 25th. Under the Temporal Framework, territories can only be demarcated if the indigenous people can prove that they were occupying the area before or on the exact date of the promulgation of the Federal Constitution, on October 5, 1988, or in the case of proof of conflict over land ownership.

Where it came from

The legal argumentation of the Temporal Framework began in an analysis of the right to possession of the territory of the Xokleng people, from Santa Catarina, originating from a repossession suit filed in 2009 by the state government regarding the Ibirama-Kaklãnõ Indigenous Land (TI). The thesis was used for the first time to question the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land, in Roraima. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the native people.

In the trial agenda of the STF on the 25th, the theme will be analyzed again and arouses the concern of the indigenous people because, if the thesis is accepted, it could become a parameter to question all the Indigenous Lands existing in Brazil and open precedents for the native people to be practically evicted from their homes.

In the opinion of Marcos Sabaru, of the Tingui ethnic group and one of the leaders of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil – Apib, the thesis of the Temporal Framework is “a machine to deconstruct history. Studies have already proven that the presence of indigenous peoples in the world is much older than one imagines. To reduce this to apply only to 1988 here in Brazil is to destroy the history, the traditional knowledge, the services that indigenous people have provided for a long time,” Sabaru says.

Mobilization

The general coordinator of the Indigenous Council of Roraima – CIR, Edinho Batista, informs that 32 delegates should go to the mobilization in the federal capital, representing the Macuxi people. He also joins Marcos Saburu’s voice and affirms that the indigenous people will fight until the end to have their right to land respected. “We will be there to accompany the vote on the Temporal Framework, but also to the debates and votes of projects that impact the lives of indigenous and traditional communities throughout Brazil.

The movement to support the caravans that are going to Brasília has already begun and includes an invitation to help by donating basic necessities, for those who are in the federal capital, or by contributing financially to the indigenous fight. Blankets, water, hand sanitizer, and non-perishable food can be donated, among other items. Those who want to contribute financially just follow the link.

Marcos Saburu alerts about the dimension of the indigenous cause: “Society has to understand that the fight of the indigenous people is not only theirs, it is the fight of the Brazilian society and of the planet. This has to do with the issue of climate change, production of clean water, oxygen, protection of fauna and flora. “It is necessary that society wakes up, comes to the fight, manifests itself and helps the indigenous people.