Pataxo Indians Prevent the Atlantic Forest from Disappearing
10/16/97
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Headline: Pataxo Indians Prevent the Atlantic Forest from Disappearing
Source: Indianist Missionary Council (Cimi)
Date: 10/16/97
Newsletter n. 282
PATAXO INDIANS PREVENT THE ATLANTIC FOREST FROM DISAPPEARING
Determined to protect what is left of the Atlantic Forest, about
600 Pataxo Indians in the state of Bahia have decided to occupy, for
an indefinite period or time, an area of 1.420 hectare, which belongs
to the Indian lands known as Coroa Vemelha. The action was triggered
by the angry reaction on the part of the local community which, during
the previous week, had caught the Goes Cohabita real estate company
deforesting the area for allotment purposes. Last Tuesday the Funai
(National Foundation for Indian Issues) accepted the denunciations
made by the Pataxo people, the Cimi and the Center of Studies and
Research for the Development of the Far South of Bahia (Cepedes) and
got the Ministry of Justice to issue an Administrative Act declaring
the area as one traditionally occupied by Indian peoples, thus
fulfilling the third out of the five stages which comprise the
demarcation process. Due to the deforestation of an area under legal
protection, the Goes Cohabita was ordered to pay a fine by the
Brazilian Institute for Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama). The
Indians, nevertheless, guarantee that they will remain in the area
watching out for new deforestation activities.
Despite the fact that the Administrative Act providing for the
demarcation of Indian lands represents a great victory against the
despotism of invaders, the Pataxos' struggle, which has been going on
for 24 years, is being regarded also a part of a negotiation process.
The area is the same where both the federal and the state governments
intended to build the Open Museum of the Discovery, a megalomaniac
project which aims at reconstituting, in the region, the 1500 scenario
of Brazil's "discovery". In reason of this project, the state
government attempted to expropriate the area and illegally remove the
Indian community. The Indians subjected the continuity of negotiations
on the Open Museum to the demarcation of their lands. The Cimi and the
Cepedes are against the project due to the existence of
anthropological reports which indicate a serious threat to the
cultural integrity of the Pataxo Indians.
Despite this round of discussions, the two agencies are
mobilizing Indians and NGOs with the aim of developing a program for
the preservation of all forests around the Indian settlement, with a
view to proposing projects for the self-support of families which live
in the area.
THE SUPREME FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES THE CASE AGAINST THE YANOMAMI AREA
Supreme Court Minister Marco Aurelio de Mello, who had been
charged with reporting the matter, dismissed the Direct Injunction of
Unconstitutionality (Adin) which called for the annulment of Yanomami
lands demarcation. In the Injunction, the Military argued that the
borderline would pose a serious "threat" to the separatist
"intentions" of Indian peoples and could end up by favoring their
cultural, economic and political autonomy. In the Minister's opinion,
the Confederation of Members and Beneficiaries of the Armed and
Auxiliary Forces (Confamil), which represents retired officers, has no
right of action to propose such Action, to the extent that it is not a
unionized body and was not created according to the Brazilian Labor
Code.
THE CIR CALL FOR THE DEMARCATION OF THE RAPOSA/SERRA DO SOL AREA
Four representatives of the Indian council of Roraima (CIR) are in
Brasilia in search of solutions for the Raposa/Serra do Sol Indian
area. Since December of last year, the Indians have been waiting for
the final demarcation of the area and they now reject the decision
made by the Minister of Justice, Nelson Jobim, determining a new
definition of the area's boundaries. The CIR wants the ministerial
decision revoked and, at the same time, denounces the increasing local
uproar. Funai's President, Sullivan Silvestre, has announced that he
will soon visit the Indian area to check up on the situation.
Brasilia, October 16, 1997.
Indianist Missionary Council (Cimi)