News-Letter Nr. 474

Pataxó Indigenous People Rebuild Monument to Indigenous Resistance

One year and four months after the monument to the indigenous resistance was destroyed in Santa Cruz Cabrália by the Military Police of the state of Bahia, the Pataxó rebuilt the indigenous symbol. The new monument was built on the Pascoal Mount, which they reoccupied in 1999 and represents another symbol of the determination and struggle of indigenous peoples. It took almost one year for the monument to be built and its construction was kept secret to avoid new repressive actions of the police. The monument will be inaugurated on the same day that the indigenous people will celebrate two years of reoccupation of the Pascoal Mount. The activities will begin on Friday, the 17th, with cultural painting activities, puppet shows, music and videos for indigenous children and adults.

On Saturday, leaders of all Pataxó villages and representatives of indigenous peoples of other states will get together to evaluate the situation of indigenous peoples in Brazil and the reoccupation of the Pascoal Mount. On Sunday, the 19th, the monument will be inaugurated in a ceremony that will be attended by organizations engaged in actions to support the indigenous cause and parliamentarians.

Rebuilding the monument to the indigenous resistance was a matter of honor for indigenous communities, which are still outraged with the action of the Military Police on April 9th, 2000. On that night, a group of about 200 armed police officers surrounded the site where the old monument was being built (next to the old cross, under which the first mess was celebrated in Brazil), to make sure nobody offered any resistance as the monument was destroyed with a tractor, a power shovel, spades, and picks. In less than ten minutes, the work of many months was completely destroyed. The monument had been conceived to celebrate the arrival of the Indigenous March to Santa Cruz Cabrália and the Conference of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations, which brought together 3,600 indigenous people of over 150 peoples from all over Brazil.

The new monument preserved the intent of the first one, which is to translate into a visual form the violence faced by indigenous peoples in the last 500 years, to honor the memory of their ancestors, and to celebrate Brazil's cultural and ethnic diversity. The monument is located in a square called "praça do meio" (middle square), which from now on will be called "Resistance Square". The square is a passageway to various villages, to the visitation center and to the summit of the Pascoal Mount.

The monument has a circular base built with stones and concrete where a large space was reserved for dancing activities. In the central area, one can see a map of Brazil surrounded by a line made of concrete on which the names of indigenous peoples will be written. Inside the map, a garden with medicinal plants found in indigenous villages located in the various regions of Brazil will be planted. Around the circular base, five large arch-shaped columns rise and meet at the top, symbolizing the last five centuries of indigenous resistance. Pataxó communities located around the Pascoal Mount developed the whole project themselves on a self-help basis.

Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe Want Lawsuit that was Filed 19 Years Ago to be Judged by the Supreme Federal Court Urgently

A group of 12 members of the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe people was received this Thursday, August 16, by the chief justice of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), associate judge Marco Aurélio Mello, and by associate judge Nelson Jobim, the rapporteur of an action to declare null and void certain title deeds held by alleged owners of lands located inside the Caramuru Catarina Paraguassu indigenous area, in the municipality of Pau Brazil, state of Bahia. No final decision in relation to the lawsuit has been announced by the STF after19 years.

The visit was another attempt to show to the court how urgent the matter is. The conflicts in the area, which so far have claimed the lives of 12 indigenous people, have become more intense after the Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe decided to reoccupy the lands without waiting any longer for an official decision on the matter after the murder of Galdino Jesus dos Santos, who was burned alive in Brasília on April 20th, 1997. On that occasion, Galdino was accompanying a delegation that was in the federal capital to press for a quicker regularization of their land. The Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe reminded associate judge Jobim that while the murderers of Galdino will probably be judged this semester, the regularization of their territory, the dream of this indigenous people, is still pending.

Three Indigenous People and the Coordinator of the CPT Die in an Accident in Roraima

A serious accident that took place last Wednesday, the 15th, in the BR-174 highway, in the state of Roraima, killed indigenous leaders Lúcia Makuxi, Severino Rodrigues Makuxi, and Davi Deyden Wai Wai and father Arthur Agostini, coordinator of the Land Pastoral Commission (CPT) in the Diocese of Roraima. The indigenous people and the priest were returning from the Surumu Mission, where they had been carrying out a study on Indigenous Rights organized by the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR).

The accident took place near the Paricana waterway, in front of the Diamante Verde farm, about 150 kilometers from the city of Boa Vista in the direction of Venezuela. According to witnesses, a Venezuelan vehicle coming on the opposite direction with high beams crashed violently into the side of the van of the Diocese, which was being driven by father Artur Agostini. The van turned over, killing and seriously injuring seven other indigenous people. Five of them were hospitalized with bruises and possibly cranial trauma. Ernesto Macuxi, the husband of Lúcia, was hospitalized in Boa Vista in a critical condition.

Father Artur was a member of the First Franciscan Order and was also engaged in actions to raise the political awareness of indigenous communities and to support them in their struggle for their lands. He was respected and recognized for his efforts to ensure a more democratic access to lands to small farmers and for his persistent work to ensure the rights of indigenous people.

Brasília, 16 August 2001. Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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