News-Letter  Nr. 404

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES BEGIN MARCH EN ROUTE TO BAHIA

The Indigenous March has begun. The first caravan left last Tuesday, March 28th, from Benjamin Constant, Amazonas, taking representatives from the Tikuna, Marubo, Mayoruna, and Matis peoples to Coroa Vermelha in Santa Cruz de Cabrália, Bahia, for the Indigenous Conference "Other Brazil 500". The March is composed of caravans from five Brazilian regions, which are organized by the Network of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations from the Northeast, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo (Apoinme), by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations from the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab), and by the Council of the Brazilian Network of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations (Capoib) - with the support of Cimi, within the Movement for Indigenous, Black, and Grassroots Resistance.

In some towns through which they pass, the caravans will be received by activists from the Black and grassroots movements, who come together for protests, rallies, seminars, and shows condemning the violence and extermination perpetrated against indigenous peoples throughout the last 500 years of colonization.

In the Northern region, the public ceremonies will be held in Manaus, Parintins (AM), Belém (PA), Imperatriz (MA), and Palmas (TO). According to the Tuxaua, Pedro Inácio Pinheiro, the departure from the villages was difficult: "we faced heavy storms all night long until we got here." The journey to Manaus will entail 1,628 km of navigation down the Solimäes River.

For the Tikuna, the Indigenous March has a special meaning. The departure from Benjamin Constant happened on the exact same day as the 14 members from this people were killed in an ambush perpetrated in 1988 by local loggers in the São Leopoldo community. The case became known as the "Capacete Massacre", since it occurred along Capacete Stream. According to Pedro Inácio, this was a great opportunity to denounce how the killers have been let off unpunished.

Upon their arrival in Manaus, on the 4th April, they will participate in demonstrations at the University of Amazonas in memory of the years of resistence and struggle, a parade through the streets and a political-cultural show at night. The indigenous delegation, composed of over 300 people, will continue on to Parantins, also in Amazonas, where the Sateré-Maué are organizing their departure, which will be marked by a public demonstration on April 6th. They will arrive in Santarém (PA) on the 7th and in Belém, on the 10th, where the caravans from Pará and Amapá will meet. A series of public judgements on crimes committed throughout these 500 years against indigenous peoples, Blacks, and the poor and destitute population will take place in Santarém. On April 11th, a public demonstration will occur in Imperatriz, Maranhão. Upon arrival in Palmas (TO), on the 12th, the caravans from the Northern region and Goiás will meet for a protest in town. Similar protests will take place throughout cities of the South, Southeast, and Northeast, as the indigenous peoples make their way to Bahia.

As they pass through Brasilia on the 13th, a public hearing organized by the Human Rights Committee of the House of Representatives, Cimi, and Capoib, is to be held in the Salão Negro (Black Hall) of the National Congress. Departure for Bahia has been scheduled for the 14th, where a public demonstration will take place in Monte Pascoal on the 17th, in support of the Pataxó recovery of their land. Meanwhile, the caravan from the Northeast will stage a protest in Salvador. The Indigenous Conference 2000 will take place from April 18th to 22nd, bringing together over 2000 indigenous people representing 200 of the 215 indigenous peoples in Brazil.

Brasilia, 29 March 2000.
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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