Author: Megan Ryan
March 11, 2025
Introduction
“This is a very severe humanitarian crisis. The worst in my lifetime,” – Junior Hekurari Yanomami, head of the Yanomami and Ye’kuana Indigenous Health District Council.
…
Deforestation in the Amazon has many environmental and economic consequences. However, Indigenous persons additionally suffer from the loss of forest area and continued encroachment on their land. While deforestation may seem exclusive to native communities themselves, the reduction of Indigenous land contributes to increasing environmental concerns that involve all who reside on this earth. In the first part of my deforestation series, I demonstrated the economic issues that resulted from Amazon exports. Throughout this article, I intend to portray the immense adversities that native persons endure and how Indigenous communities can improve the climate crisis.
Indigenous Groups in the Amazon
Indigenous people account for 0.8% of the population in Brazil and live in various environments and ecosystems. There are about 900,000 native people who speak 274 languages in Brazil.
Several different Indigenous groups in Brazil identify with the Amazon. The Yanomami maintain the largest portion of the country's land, possessing 9.4 million hectares (about the size of Indiana). The most populous Brazilian tribe in the Amazon is the Tikuna, while the smallest is the Akuntsu, which consists of only three women.
Amazon tribes are able to survive by hunting, gathering, and fishing. Crops, including manioc, sweet potato, corn, bananas, and pineapples, are grown to supplement their diet. Additionally, many tribes use bows and arrows, or even shotguns in some cases, to hunt peccaries, tapirs, monkeys, and birds. Fish is an equally necessary protein in the Amazon, particularly for tribes like the Enawene Nawe, who do not consume meat. The Indigenous people of the Amazon are also experts regarding the ecosystem that they reside within, passing on expansive knowledge of the best survival practices through each generation. For instance, the Awá tribe often uses torches at night made from the resin of the maçaranaduba tree.
The Brazilian government has identified 690 territories for the use of Indigenous persons, and the vast majority are in the Amazon. Despite this, 50% of Brazilian Indigenous people live outside the Amazon and only possess 1.5% of the reserved land intended for their use. Additionally, native persons within the Amazon own 28% of the Amazon, only 80% of the property protected by legislation. As a result of this, many Indigenous groups vow to remain separate or uncontacted by federal institutions.
Early Indigenous Rights in Brazil and The Constitution of 1988
Through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was limited legislation in Brazilian governance to protect Indigenous rights. That began to shift when Decree No. 8.072 was instituted in 1910, creating the Indian Protection Service (SPI) that worked to preserve the rights and property of indigenous persons. This was later replaced by the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) in 1967. However, the policies enacted by the government were challenging to implement and depended on the conditional premise of assimilation. As stated by Fernanda Frizzo Bragato in “Indigenous rights in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution: From the achievements to the current setbacks”, “...indigenous peoples only had transitory rights, which would be guaranteed until they became “civilized” civilians (CURI, 201) or would be lost in the event of “acculturation” (CUNHA, 2018)”. This period of policy-based assimilation persisted until the 1970s when the organization of an Indigenous movement and international pressure motivated Brazilian governance to better protect the liberties of native persons.
The revised Brazilian Constitution of 1967, in article 186, defended the “permanent possession of the land in which they [Indigenous persons] dwell and the right to the exclusive use of the natural resources and all the benefits recognized therein.” Additionally, the Indian statute was created in 1973 to conserve Indigenous culture and help integrate native persons into Brazilian society. As Indigenous rights developed slowly, native persons began to mobilize and establish advocacy groups. Most significantly, the Union of Indigenous Nations (UNI) was constructed in 1980 and composed of representatives from 15 Brazilian ethnic groups. The UNI was crucial in improving Indigenous liberties, particularly regarding the creation of the 1988 Constitution.
The Constitution of 1988 was the most comprehensive legislation corresponding to the matter thus far. It allowed Indigenous persons to exist, separate from the SPI, in a manner they had not previously experienced.
Since then, there have been plenty of revisions and protections to Indigenous liberties. The International Labor Convention (ILO) 169, adopted by the UN in 1989, was ratified by the Brazilian Congress in 2002. It worked to secure freedom of expression for Indigenous persons and prevented further integration practices. Brazil adopted the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, assuring self-determination, land ownership, and several other liberties for native persons. Additionally, Brazil endorsed the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2016, which also maintains the personal liberties of native persons. However, such legislative efforts have not massively helped Indigenous persons.
The Eroding of Indigenous Rights
While the Brazilian government has passed numerous legislation to benefit Indigenous persons, implementing such efforts has been tricky. The Constitution of 1988 was quite vague in its description of Indigenous rights. Unfortunately, many industries and corporations have used this ambiguousness for their own benefit, effectively diminishing the liberties of natives in the Amazon.
Because the legislature that contradicts the Constitution still stands, the implementation of indigenous rights has been very arduous. The Indian Statute of 1973 marked slight progress when it was passed, yet it still involved the tutelage of FUNAI. Indigenous persons are required to receive permission from FUNAI for various matters, which still persists even with the advancements provided by the 1988 Constitution. Additionally, the Presidential Decree 1775 in 1996 permits organizations to debate the demarcations of indigenous lands for 90 days after FUNAI has reviewed the corresponding land. This decree, enacted because several large institutions inquired about having the opportunity to contest Indigenous lands, risked un-demarcating 125 million acres of native land. Fortunately, many of the claims put forth by outside organizations were dismissed. However, the entire situation was very tedious and overlooked the input of Indigenous persons.
Such legislative inconsistencies have continued in the twenty-first century. The revised Forest Code of 2012 caused the regression of Amazon protections, reducing the area requirement for legal reserves on private properties and pardoning the practice of illegal deforestation before 2008. This continued with the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president in 2018 (more about Bolsonaro here), whose initiatives reduced Amazon safeguards and restrictions. The President previously stated, “Where there is Indigenous land, there is wealth underneath it.” He has undoubtedly defended this claim by cutting the funding for the National Indian Foundation, a Brazilian organization that protects Indigenous rights; weakening the IBAMA, which regulates environmental policy; and bypassing the National Congress of Brazil to reverse protections of Amazon environments and communities.
Because of the represented cracks in legislation, numerous organizations can encroach upon Indigenous territories. The practices of mining, road construction, logging, cattle ranching, farming, and damming waterways are often the most responsible for seizures of native land. About 95% of deforestation occurs within four miles of a road, and cattle pastures derive from 70% of cleared lands, which are later transformed into farmland for export production. With the demand for valuable minerals increasing, is extremely present and essential to the Brazilian economy. Furthermore, criminal activity in the Amazon, such as illegal mining, logging, ranching, and land grabs, has been detrimental to Indigenous communities. Organized criminal organizations, who are often staffed with militias, either bribe or terrorize officers and other defenders of the Amazon. Then, they are subsequently able to burn trees and forest areas, as well as invade public land for their benefit. The interests of the represented industries and organizations do not just simply result in the loss of Indigenous land but also affect the well-being and livelihoods of such native persons.
How Indigenous Groups are Affected by Deforestation
Indigenous persons throughout the entire world often experience the greatest amount of discrimination within society. This is certainly represented in the Amazon, as the Indigenous communities that correspond to this region are subjected to immense suffering regardless of the legal provisions that exist.
Indigenous persons in the Amazon endure political underrepresentation, rampant violence, assimilation that damages their culture, and land grabbing, all of which heavily affects their health outcomes. One of the most deadly places for native communities is the Amazon. From 2015-2019, 40% of individuals murdered identified with native communities, and 33 people were killed in 2019, which comprised 15% of the global total of murders corresponding to this issue. Additionally, with enforced Western assimilation and fewer opportunities for food in their native environment, Indigenous societies adopt more unhealthy diets. This results in greater amounts of diabetes and obesity cases, as native persons are essentially required to immerse themselves in Brazilian customs in preference to their own. Furthermore, the presence of wildfires can dismantle the livelihoods of native people. The burning of vegetation creates amiable conditions for mosquitoes and causes the increased spread of diseases like malaria. Such issues are especially exacerbated by the presence of illegal miners in Indigenous lands.
When these illegal miners, known as garimpeiros, infiltrate native communities, they contaminate the surrounding rivers with mercury. This results in adverse health effects for those residing in the surrounding environment. One study by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) found that 92% of inhabitants of a Yanomami village possess unsafe amounts of mercury in their blood. Additionally, the communities that illegally seize Indigenous land often recruit young natives for mining or sex work, further accelerating the development of disease. Malaria cases in the Yanomami tribe increased from 2,928 in 2014 to 20,394 in 2021.
Furthermore, the mining devices that the garimpeiros utilize contaminate fish habitats and encourage animals to move further into the Amazon. As a result, Indigenous communities find it increasingly difficult to secure sources of food. Jonathan Watts and Talia Bedinelli in “How Illegal Mining Caused a Humanitarian Crisis in the Amazon” stated, “emaciated chests, distended bellies, limbs like sticks — the images of malnourished infants and elderly that have emerged in recent weeks…resemble the worst of the famines in Ethiopia, Sudan, or North Korea.” Such conditions further represent the disastrous situation in Indigenous communities.. Unfortunately, this experience is not exclusive to contacted tribes like the Yanomami.
Uncontacted tribes are those who desire to remain isolated from the surrounding society to further preserve and protect their native land from outside individuals and institutions. Around 100 uncontacted Indigenous groups reside within the Amazon, and Brazil is more abundant with these groups than anywhere else. While uncontacted tribes commit great efforts to ensure their security, outsiders hungry for valuable environmental materials will not reserve themselves in their path to immense profit. Following an extensive massacre of the elderly population, the Sapawana tribe finally made contact with their intruders to cease the violence. However, these first interactions between Western intruders and uncontacted tribes often present fatal consequences, as new, deadly diseases can decimate populations of the corresponding Indigenous community. For instance, the exploration of Shell for greater natural resource opportunities in the 1980s caused the death of 50% of the Nahua tribe. The few descendants of this community that remain continue to suffer from the symptoms of tuberculosis and Hepatitis B. While the adverse circumstances the Amazon Indigenous groups encounter may seem irrelevant to those residing in modern society, the loss of native land could cause devastating environmental consequences that will affect us all.
Why Loss of Indigenous Land Concerns You
Without Indigenous communities' continued preservation of areas in the Amazon, the rainforest would emit greater carbon dioxide (CO2) than it stores. Because of this, the greenhouse gas effect, wherein CO2 and other gases would trap the sun’s heat and increase the temperature of the Earth, would further intensify. Consequently, Indigenous communities are essential for regulating the climate and ensuring the welfare of the globe.
Indigenous communities serve as excellent protectors of the forest and are found to be as effective as nature conservations, with about 36% of global intact forests currently corresponding to Indigenous lands. In the Amazon Basin, native areas also possess a higher carbon density on average compared to non-native lands. Additionally, Indigenous persons are incredibly knowledgeable of their surrounding environments in ways that external conservationists may be unfamiliar with. For instance, the Yanomami tribe cultivates 500 plants for their necessities, and the Satere Mawe consumed Guaraná to satisfy their hunger and energy long before it was commercialized. Finally, protecting Indigenous lands and communities is the most economically feasible option for reducing CO2 emissions. Natural gas plants are 7 to 42 times more expensive, and carbon capture and storage is 5 to 29 times more expensive than the practice of establishing native lands. Indigenous rights and communities are invaluable but encounter an arduous trajectory.
Conclusion
The current President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has taken numerous measures to secure the rights of native persons in Brazil. Silva established the Indigenous Affairs Ministry, led by an Indigenous woman, Sonia Guajajara. He additionally committed to the persecution of invasions upon Indigenous land, specifically instructing police and military forces to remove numerous illegal miners from the Yanomami region. However, despite the new administration's efforts to protect Indigenous persons, native communities are still threatened by legislation that could severely diminish their liberties.
The Marco Temporal is a legal thesis arguing that Indigenous communities who were not present on their lands during the ratification of the 1988 Constitution are not provided with the recognition of their traditional lands. The thesis was struck down in 2023. However, similar policies resurfaced with the proposition of Bill 2903 by the Brazilian Congress. Silva attempted to veto the legislation, yet Congress bypassed the President’s opposition and passed this bill as Federal Law 14.701. Multiple political parties have appealed this legislation to the Supreme Court. Still, it remains to be seen if the most severe threat to Indigenous rights since the democratization of Brazil will be upheld.
One of the greatest solutions to deforestation in the Amazon and worldwide is to protect native rights and lands. As a result, the issues demonstrated by natives like Junior Hekurari Yanomami are incredibly relevant to all who inhabit the earth, as the prosperity of the globe is dependent upon the existence and perseverance of Indigenous persons.
Glossary
Assimilation: Assimilation occurs when an individual containing different cultural customs, either voluntarily or forcibly, adopts the traditions and lifestyle of a separate culture.
Carbon Dioxide: Carbon Dioxide is a heat-trapping gas derived from burning fossil fuels. It is also known as a Greenhouse gas.
Deforestation: Deforestation occurs when areas of vegetative land are cleared for a specific purpose. This is often done as a result of industrialization.
Demarcation: Demarcation is the process of revising the limits or boundaries of a specific area. Regarding Indigenous rights, demarcation usually sorts native or public land.
Encroachment: Encroachment occurs when an individual intrudes upon another’s rights or territory.
Greenhouse Gases: Greenhouse gases absorb heat from the surface of the earth and trap heat from the earth’s atmosphere. Typical greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and industrial gases.
Intact Forests: Intact forests are forests that have been separated from human involvement.
Orphanage of Guardianship: Orphanage of guardianship was a practice in Brazil where Indigenous children were taken from their native communities and moved into federal institutions. They were required to assimilate into modern Brazilian society and remove themselves from their culture and language.
Militias: A militia is a military group that is comprised of regular civilians. Militias are usually created in an emergency to assist an army.
Mercury: Mercury is a natural element that is toxic and occurs in water, soil, rock, and air.
National Congress of Brazil: The National Congress of Brazil is the legislative branch of the Brazilian government. It is a bicameral body responsible for making legislation and overseeing Brazilian finances.
Transitory rights: Transitory rights, in relation to the 1988 Constitution, are liberties that were established and solidified before the creation of Brazil as a nation. They are not temporary but depend on the traditional possession of land in the Amazon.
Tutelage: Tutelage is guardianship, essentially, the action of possessing authority over something.
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