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The Guajajara are an
indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
in the
Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...
of
Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...
. They are one of the most numerous indigenous groups in Brazil, with an estimated 13,100 individuals living on indigenous land.


History

In 1901, the Guajajara fought Capuchin missionaries in what is regarded as the last Brazilian "war against the Indians." Chief Cauiré Imana had succeeded in uniting many villages to destroy the Capuchin mission and expel all whites from the region between the cities of
Barra do Corda Barra do Corda () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Maranhão in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil. Geography Climate Higher education *Logos Institute of Theology (''Ins ...
and Grajaú. The Guajajara were defeated by a militia made up of army contingents, military police, and Canelas warriors.


Guardians of the forest

The "guardians of the forest" are a forest protection group primarily composed of Guajajara tribal members living on Arariboia Indigenous Land, a territory in the north-eastern edge of the
Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...
in
Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. They operate with the intent of protecting the rainforest from invasion by
loggers Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...
, land grabbers, and
drug traffickers The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...
. Although the group was officially founded in 2013, the Arariboia Guajajara argue that their mission of guarding the rainforest has been in action for more than five centuries.


Origin and mission

On October 15, 2007, tribal leader Tome Guajajara was killed during an armed invasion by woodcutters in his village, after which talks of formalizing the group began. Village leaders in nearby communities encouraged young people to mobilize to defend their land. In 2013, the Guardians of the Forest was established. They are politically independent, volunteer-run, and there is no official record of their existence to protect their members from being targeted. The Guardians track illegal loggers,
miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
, and their camps in groups of five or more, by foot or using motorized vehicles to disrupt and deter deforestation. The Guardians consist of approximately 120 volunteers who collectively protect 413,000 hectares of land in Arariboia. The territory is inhabited by 13,100 members of the Guajajara, Awa-Guaja, and Awá Indigenous tribes. A large portion of the Awá tribe are uncontacted and are dependent on the rainforest for subsistence and survival. Loggers and extraction teams negatively impact the ecological longevity and spiritual value of the land, undermining Indigenous peoples' safety and way of life. The Guajajara adopt an Indigenous approach to
environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...
, in which they emphasize a reciprocal relationship between humans and the environment. From their perspective, humans have a responsibility to give back to the environment what they take. The Guardians consider themselves stewards of the forest, emphasizing
kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
and their ancestral obligation to protect their land.


Response


Political response

The Brazilian government has been a prominent adversary to the Guardians, particularly under the presidency of
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Messias Bolsonaro (; born 21 March 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former military officer who served as the 38th president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as a member of Brazil's Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Chamb ...
. Bolsonaro has publicly dismissed the Indigenous people's claim to the Arariboia land throughout his political career. The conflict is furthered by the interests of multinational corporations that aim to maximize profits from cheap commodities retrieved through forest extraction. Bolsonaro, who was elected on a platform heavily supported by the agricultural business sector, sided with the multinational corporations. The Guardians have accused Bolsonaro of weakening their constitutional rights through his support for deforestation over the needs of Indigenous communities. Although the
1988 Brazilian Constitution The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil () is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil. It replaced the autocratic ...
grants land rights to Indigenous groups, they have been consistently excluded from the procedural process of environmental discussions. The capabilities of Indigenous people to achieve cultural, spiritual, and physical wellbeing is ignored through the generalization of human environmental needs. According to the Guardians, the lack of recognition of their injustice was a motivating factor for the creation of their group.


International response

The Guardians have attracted growing international attention due to their opposition to the government and the high-profile murders of several members. In November 2019, Sônia Guajajara, a prominent Indigenous activist and former presidential candidate who ran against Bolsonaro in 2018, urged the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
to place global pressure on Brazil for their repression of Indigenous environmental rights. Organizations including Greenpeace, Democracy Now!, and major news outlets, including The Atlantic, Vox Media, and the BBC have raised awareness of the group's activities, with Indigenous activists increasingly advocating for sanctions against the Brazilian government and the need for Indigenous visibility in environmental justice forums.


Conflict

Between 2000 and 2020, 47 Guardians were killed during confrontations with illegal loggers, miners, and extractions teams. Violence escalated following Bolsonaro's election in 2018, leading to the
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
of multiple members, including Paulo Paulino Guajajara and schoolteacher Zezico Guajajara. Guardians are eligible to enrol in a federally implemented Human Rights Defenders Protection Program, which claims to provide physical and financial security to vulnerable community members. However, it has been criticized by Guajajara members for its criminalization of protestors and its failure to punish and hold illegal loggers and miners accountable.


Notes


External links


Guajajara artworks
National Museum of the American Indian {{DEFAULTSORT:Guajajara Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples of the Amazon