Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul
+ INDIGENIST MISSIONARY COUNCIL - CIMI
living in Mato Grosso do Sul. They need to know that this fight
is a result of suffering that has been imposed on us for over five
hundred years. That is why I started to engage and fight for some
things in the settlement where I worked for four years.
How did you start to work for the defense of the rights to land
of the Guarani-Kaiowá?
Along with my work as a teacher and my participation in the
committee of indigenous teachers in the state, I also started to
research and try to find historical documents that proved that
the Kurusu Amba land belonged to the indigenous people. That's
because a number of families were living in the settlement of
Taquapiri, mine included, only because they had been evicted
from their own land in the past, some fifty years ago. These lands
were turned into farms.
With these documents and evidence, and together with other
leaders, as of 2007 these families returned to occupy the land
that was theirs. Despite the eviction, we never put aside the
feeling that this land was ours. We have a very strong connection
with the place, for the indigenous people land is a very significant
issue. We feel spiritually free, we feel free to exert our culture.
Contact with nature is also important because, when we moved
to another settlement, Taquapiri, we overpopulated the place,
and the land was just not enough for so many people.
I was witnessing the death of many leaders. My relatives
and family by blood were suffering. We ended up camping by a
federal highway, waiting for a demarcation of land that just never
happened. Then I too joined in the fight. That year, the Aty Guasu
movement called me to be their spokesman.
MATO GROSSO DO SUL ESTADO
CAMPEÃO DE VIOLENCIA CONTRA
OS POVOS INDÍGENAS NO BRASIL.
What is the situation currently like in Kurusu Amba?
Not only there, but throughout Mato Grosso do Sul, the
indigenous people are occupying their land, taking over old farms
that are actually indigenous land, as proven by reports. There
are 36 campgrounds in total. The farmers and the media spread
rumors that once the demarcation was issued, we would take over
the whole state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
But that is a lie they are saying. Occupancy actions, road
blocking, and barriers are some of the means we use to call the
government's attention to our situation.
Because of these actions, we have been suffering a lot of
violence, threats, and many of our leaders have been killed. The
Guarani-Kaiowá are not of a violent nature. That is not part of our
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