Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul
INDIGENIST MISSIONARY COUNCIL - CIMI teme
ELISEU LOPES, Kaiowa³
UN System in Brazil and the European Union Delegation in Brazil
"We are not violent, and yet we're still dying"
The Guarani-Kaiowá Eliseu Lopes, 37, first became involved
with indigenous issues in 2003, when he became a teacher in
Taquapiri settlement in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
He has been a spokesman for the Aty Guasu Movement since 2007,
bringing together the Guarani-Kaiowá, and he's been active in the
struggle for the recovery of land that historically belonged to his
ancestors, the Kurusu Amba, and in supporting leaders in the other
35 indigenous campgrounds in the state.
Currently, the defender is working in Brasília, as a coordinator
of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs in Brazil, dealing with indigenous
issues throughout the country. But he remains a member of the
Aty Guasu Movement and represents the communities of Mato
Grosso do Sul in the federal capital. And he plans to go back to his
land soon.
How did you become the indigenous leader for the Guarani-
Kaiowa of Kurusu Amba?
My struggle began with indigenous education in 2003. Because
I could speak Portuguese and Guarani, and because I learned from
the elders, I decided to teach classes to children in the settlement
of Taquapiri. I started attending teachers' committees and to make
RESSO
every effort to bring differentiated education to our community.
When i speak of differentiated education; I mean education that
will pass on our traditions and our culture to future generations.
When I went to school, teachers were non-indigenous; they came
from other states and couldn't speak Guarani. This rescue of
indigenous tradition is something the indigenous people achieved
in their mobilization.
We want education to also address our history of struggles and
explain to the children the situation that the Guarani-Kaiowá are
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8 Interview with the UN System in Brazil and the European Union Delegation in Brazil. The publication can be accessed in full at: http://sectordialogues.org/sites/default/files/
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