Indigenous People of the Amazon Are Under Attack

In light of the widespread news of the September massacre of Indigenous Amazonian people in Brazil by illegal miners, there have been calls to protect Native peoples and their tribes, specifically in Brazil. A United Nations expert along with prominent Indigenous leaders have spoken up about the lack of protection for Native people and their lands. In an open letter, Native leaders Raoni Metuktire, Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Sonia Bone Guajajara are quoted as saying:

“Our government is destroying us indigenous peoples, our country’s first people. In the name of profit and power, our land is being stolen, our forests burned, our rivers polluted and our communities devastated. Our uncontacted relatives, who live deep in the forest, are being attacked and killed. But we won’t be silenced. We do not want the riches of our land to be stolen and sold. For as long as we can remember, we have looked after our lands.”

Before this becomes a Human Rights conversation, it is important to look at the factors at hand. Natural resources have indeed become a necessary evil in modernized society. Oil, coal, wood and fresh water are basic needs to fuel the technology we have become accustomed to. There are pushes to become more resourceful, using clean energy not only for the environment’s sake, but also for the sake of not using all of our resources up at once. The shift in conversation is where we get our resources, and who the extraction of these resources is detrimental to. Indigenous peoples’ claims to their Native lands are not respected, as we have seen throughout history. With the rush for resources (and in some cases, precious metal) clashes with Indigenous people have become more common and more violent. Tribes do not participate in the global market; therefore, people feel entitled to the property and land of Indigenous people.

U.N. leaders have taken a political approach to the situation, with one top expert urging “South American states ‘to redouble efforts to protect the territories’ of tribes”. South American states should acknowledge certain values over trying to make money and this includes strengthening protections for Indigenous tribes. Enforcing stronger protection would make Indigenous rights more legitimate in the eyes of the states. With this in place, it would be easier to enforce laws to protect territories. Indigenous people have the utmost admiration for their lands, and stripping them of protection and home is immoral. Although it would not be practical for Indigenous people to have certain voting rights since they do not participate in aspects of government, it is up to the government to protect them.

Indigenous rights continue to be violated and they feel as though the governments do not properly protect them. The violent killings of these people for their resources has been out of hand even before the news began to cover it. Policy change would normalize treating Indigenous people better, but only if people are educated on why it is important not to kill them, which seems self-explanatory.