Text: CIR Legal Advisory
Between December 5th and 7th, 2022, at the Urucuri Base/April 26th Surveillance Post, São Mateus Indigenous Community, Serras region, Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land, Uiramutã Municipality, the III State Assembly of Protection and Surveillance Agents of the State of Roraima took place, with the theme, "Strengthening territory protection strategies with monitoring and surveillance actions".
Indigenous peoples are protectors of 36 indigenous lands in Roraima, almost half of the state's territory, encompassing approximately 70,000 indigenous people. Indigenous leaders discussed the challenges to territorial protection and surveillance in the face of increasing invasions of indigenous lands. The deliberate omission of federal agencies in combating these invasions, and the profound worsening of rights violations due to the dismantling of protection and oversight bodies by the Bolsonaro government, which encourages crimes on indigenous lands, are challenges that must be faced.
Photos: Emerson Rodrigues
Jacir José de Souza, a traditional leader with a long history in the fight for the demarcation of Raposa Serra do Sol, was one of the participants in the III Assembly, and contributed his profound wisdom and extensive experience to the discussions about the importance of the organization and struggle of indigenous peoples to guarantee their lives, their rights, and their territories.
Photos: Emerson Rodrigues
Thanks to a Parliamentary Amendment by Representative Joenia Wapichana (Rede/RR), indigenous territorial protection and surveillance agents now have nine motorcycles, communication radios, drones, binoculars, boats, and life jackets. Indigenous leaders are now proficient in the use of drones for territorial monitoring and defense of their territories against invasions. The motorcycles and boats will support territorial protection activities, allowing for faster movement and more effective monitoring.
The leaders received self-defense training taught by Yvone Magalhães, the first woman to earn a coral belt in Jiu-Jitsu in the history of the sport. Marked by the principles of non-violence, Duarte taught movements and techniques for self-defense aimed at neutralizing an attack or aggression, to subdue and paralyze the aggressor safely, without the use of violence. They also received a course on general approaches, training in motorcycle use, and practical classes with instructors Jorge Pereira and Francisco Wapichana, in addition to training on indigenous rights with legal counsel from the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR).
Photos: Emerson Rodrigues
Indigenous leaders condemned and demanded answers from authorities regarding the brutal attack by the Military Police of the State of Roraima against the Tabatinga Indigenous Community on November 16, 2021, which left 12 injured, including an elderly woman, and a leader who was shot in the chest and had to undergo surgery to remove the bullet. They also expressed their outrage at the action of the Roraima Military Police (PMRR) in the Pium Indigenous Community, which on December 1, 2021, destroyed 15 family homes, shot a teenager, and even killed the dog of an elderly woman in the community, in an illegal action against the indigenous peoples of Roraima.
Indigenous leaders are demanding that public security agencies, those responsible for the protection of indigenous peoples and the environment, take immediate measures to remove all invaders from indigenous lands, and that they work in collaboration with the native peoples for the effective protection of the territories and lives of indigenous peoples. They also demand urgent action to remove all illegal miners from the Yanomami Yekuana Indigenous Territory, who are threatening the lives of children, young people, women, and men who are victims of state negligence and criminals on their lands.