Kayapó dance at an anti-dam protest in 2006 © T Turner
For so long, we, the indigenous peoples of Brazil, have been fighting for our humans rights to be respected and so for our voices to be heard. We are sorry the government didn’t give importance to our rights, but despite the struggle and violence, we stood up for them. Finally in 1988, we were victorious and our rights were recognised in the Brazilian Constitution. It was a big victory! It was a landmark moment for the indigenous peoples of Brazil, as it meant we could continue practicing our ways of life. The only thing that the Brazilian government must do now is to fulfil its duty to protect and honour our rights.
Nowadays our rights are being heavily violated and we are under threat of having our land stolen by big companies in order to exploit it with hydroelectric dams, mining, logging and lots more. It would mean a big change to the way we live and threatens uncontacted tribes with extinction because they are vulnerable to diseases that are brought in from outside, such as flu and common colds. We need support from everyone who cares for nature and its people, who have been fighting hard to preserve it as a means to a heathy life for our future generations.
