With the processes regarding land rights still underway in the state court of Roraima, as is the case of TI Manoá/Pium, a delegation of indigenous leaders from various regions, who participate in the IV Free Land Camp (ATL), in Boa Vista, were in a hearing with the judge of the Court of Justice of Roraima, Dr. Almiro Padilha, last Thursday (27) at the headquarters of the TJRR.
At the hearing, in addition to requests for demarcation and regarding the invasions of already demarcated indigenous lands, the leaders denounced the criminalization of leaders for defending their territory and called for an end to illegal mining. "We, as an indigenous people, are concerned about our lands. We defend more than 80% of the world's biodiversity. Our territory is not negotiable; the invasions destroy our rivers and everything that nature offers us. It is necessary to end the invasions," said one of the leaders whose territory is currently being invaded.
The leaders delivered a document detailing specific cases with pending territorial disputes. These are the indigenous lands of Lago da Praia (Serra da Moça), Arapuá (Alto Cauamé), Pium (Tabaio), and Manoá-Pium (Serra da Lua). The document emphasizes “dialogue and partnership with the Court to seek solutions to territorial conflicts arising from a lack of understanding of the historical struggle of indigenous peoples, spanning more than 500 years.”
The importance of the Judiciary recognizing conflict resolution practices was also a topic presented by the leaders. The Maturuca Mediation and Conciliation Center, in the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, considered the first initiative of its kind in Brazil, was mentioned, as well as the experience of the Pium community in the Serra da Lua region.
Early in the morning, another delegation of indigenous leaders participated in a virtual meeting with the legal department of the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (Funai). During the meeting, the leaders presented their territorial concerns, such as demarcation, violence, criminalization, invasions by illegal miners, and the presence of non-indigenous people on indigenous lands.
The ATL with the theme “the indigenous future is today - without demarcation there is no democracy”, started on Monday (24) and will end this Saturday (29).
This Friday, the 28th, the second-to-last day of the encampment, there will be a march and the delivery of documents to the main public agencies in the State.