Protagonism
A growing timeline of defining moments in the fight for Indigenous rights, territorial sovereignty, and the protection of the Amazon rainforest.
1980 Brazil_Creation of UNI
Union of Indigenous Nations (UNI)
União das Nações Indígenas (UNI)
‘The Union of Indigenous Nations (UNIND and later UNI) was created in 1980, in a context of strengthening indigenous mobilizations during the final years of the military-business dictatorship. The organization arose from the need to unite indigenous voices in defense of the territories and rights of native peoples in the face of the advancement of large economic projects and the violence promoted by the regime. UNI brought together important leaders of the indigenous movement, such as Ailton Krenak, Álvaro Tukano, and Marcos Terena, strengthening connections between peoples from different regions of the country. The organization played a fundamental role in expanding indigenous participation in the national public debate and in the mobilizations that contributed to guaranteeing indigenous rights in the 1988 Federal Constitution.’ Text: Brenda Okubo, ‘Today in Socio-environmental History: In 1980, the Union of Indigenous Nations, UNI, was created.’ July 2026. (https://www.socioambiental.org/en/socio-environmental-news/Today-in-socio-environmental-history--in-1980--the-Union-of-Nations-was-created.)
1984_Foundation of COICA
Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin – Coordinación de las Organisaciones de la Cuenca Amazónica
‘COICA was founded in 1984 with the aim of generating policies, proposals and actions at the local, national and international levels, from the Amazonian indigenous peoples, nationalities, and organizations. In 2021, COICA and indigenous leaders from the 8 Amazonian countries and 1 French overseas territory, together with allied organizations, called on the international community in the Urgent Motion to IUCN to avoid the tipping point in the Amazon by protecting 80% by 2025. Resolution 129 was approved with the vote of 541 global civil society organizations and 62 ministries. Today, more than 1,300 organizations endorse the goal and the Initiative. A new motion has been presented and approved in the first instance that will allow actions until 2030 to avoid cascading points of no return through the protection and restoration of Amazonian ecosystems. The Initiative “Amazonia for Life” urges the protection and restoration of 80% of the Amazon by 2030 to avoid the tipping point in the forest with the greatest biodiversity and fresh water on the planet, as a measure to guarantee the water, climate, and food security of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples, the region, and humanity as a whole.’ Text: Amazonia for Life - protect 80% by 2025-2030 (https://amazonia80x2025-2030.earth/en/founding-members/)
1987 Brazil_Ailton Krenk's Historic Speech
Ailton Krenaks speech at the Constituent Assembly reaches national and global attention
‘During the session of the National Constituent Assembly on September 4, 1987, in the debates prior to the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution, Ailton Krenak gave a speech that attracted the attention of the national and international press at the time: "May [Brazil] learn to respect a people who have always resisted all wealth, a people who live in thatched houses and sleep on mats on the ground. This people must never be seen as an enemy of Brazil's interests, the interests of the nation, or as a threat to any development. The indigenous peoples have soaked every hectare of Brazil's eight million square kilometers with blood; you, gentlemen, are witnesses to this." He said this while standing on the podium of the Constituent Assembly in the Chamber of Deputies with his face painted black, defending the popular amendment proposed by the Union of Indigenous Nations (UNI) on the rights of the indigenous population.' Text: Brenda Okubo ‘Today in socio-ecological history: On September 4, 1987, Ailton Krenak gave a speech before the National Constituent Assembly.’ ISA, 2016. (https://www.socioambiental.org/en/socio-environmental-news/Today-in-socio-environmental-history--September-4--1987%3A-Ailton-Krenak)
1988 Brazil_New Constitution
Brazil's new Constitution recognized indigenous land rights
‘During the 1970s, a political movement around pro-Indigenous rights raised the profile for Indigenous and environmental issues, organized by an Indigenous rights coalition that included domestic and international non-governmental organizations, activists, and leftist politicians. Decades of struggle for recognition domestically, combined with an international advocacy campaign, culminated in the 1988 Constitution, which acknowledges that Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of Brazil. Specifically, Article 231 of the 1988 Constitution recognizes “Indigenous people as the first and natural owners of the land and guarantees their right to land.” Through the Constitution, the federal government is mandated to demarcate land, which provides a formal guarantee, including protective status, as well as make efforts to preserve traditional Indigenous lands through formal legal land tenure processes. Since 1988, Brazil has made further international commitments to Indigenous land sovereignty, including being a major supporter and signatory of the 1989 ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) in 2007.’ Text: SDG16 (https://www.sdg16.plus/policies/constitutional-land-rights-for-indigenous-people-in-brazil/)
1989 Brazil_Altamira Protests
Indigenous Opposition to Belo Monte Dam project gains international attention
‘The Altamira Gathering was a five-day media conference organized by the Kayapo people in an effort to raise awareness of the ecological and political atrocities committed by the Brazilian government and illegal gold mining. Between February 19 and 24 in 1989 over 600 Amazonian Indigenous gathered at the port city of Altamira at the banks of the Xingu river. [..] The Altamira Gathering was the first large gathering of all groups that were threatened by the creation of the Belo Monte Dam, originally called the Kararao Dam but renamed at the time of the gathering. Over 500 Kayapo and 100 members of 40 other indigenous nations whom the Kayapo invited to join them rallied to voice their views on the dams and the destruction of the forest. Five days of meetings, speeches, press conferences, and ritual performances by the Kayapo were executed without a major hitch. Plans for the hydro-electric dams that were proposed on the Xingu River were not clearly outlined to the surrounding communities, according to local Indigenous groups. Concerns arose as the plans for a dam were expected to result in flooding in areas inhabited by Indigenous communities. After being picked up by the international media circuit the Pope sent a telegram and rockstar Sting flew in to give a press conference in support of the Altamira Gathering. Other visitors and speakers included British parliamentarian Tam Dalyell, and the environmentalist José Lutzemberger. The event was in the short term successful due to the large international support raised by the media; TV crews from four continents were present. Within two weeks the World Bank announced that it would not confer the loan earmarked for the dam. The Brazilian National Congress also announced plans to conduct a formal investigation into the entire plan. A 1992 World Bank report, World Bank Approaches to the Environment in Brazil: A Review of Selected Projects (Report No. 10039) indicates the negative impact of large-scale development projects that contributed to social and environmental concerns. Following the Altamira Gathering, President José Sarney criticized environmentalists and Indigenous activists involved in the movement, describing them as the “new imperialists”, stating that foreign influence had interfered with development in Brazil.’ Text: Wikipedia Altamira Gathering
2004 Brazil_First Acampamento Terra Livre
First Freeland Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre) giving rise to the Foundation of the National Indigenous Organisation APIB in 2005
‘In the early 2000s, indigenous peoples were already facing a scenario marked by deep threats to the rights guaranteed by the 1988 Constitution. Despite the achievements in the period after the promulgation of the Magna Carta, the political obstacles that compromise the demarcation and protection of their lands were evident. In practice, this translated into administrative slowness, recurrent land conflicts and fragility in the implementation of essential public policies for indigenous peoples. As a way to claim their constitutional rights and expand their presence in the national public debate, indigenous peoples called the Terra Livre Camp, which took place as part of the so-called Indigenous April, a set of mobilizations articulated by indigenous leaders during the month of celebration of the then called "Indian Day", today "Day of Indigenous Peoples". The organized group with approximately 150 indigenous people denounced the slowness and failures of the Brazilian State in the implementation of the rights guaranteed by the 1988 Constitution. At the time, records of violence against leadership, murders, paralysis in the processes of demarcation of Indigenous Lands (ITs), precariousness in health care, difficulties in the consolidation of differentiated school education and weaknesses in the policies of protection, management and sustainability of the territories were accumulated. It was in this context that, at five o'clock in the morning on April 15, 2004, a tent gathering several indigenous peoples was erected for the first time, on the Esplanade of the Ministries, in front of the National Congress. Present were the representatives of the Macuxi, Yanomami, Wapichana, Wai Wai, Guarani, Xucuru, Xucuru Kariri, Tupinambá, Xokleng, Kaingang, Xerente, Ingaricó, Taurepang, Xavante, Sateré-Mawé, Tukano, Tapuia, Potiguara, Pataxó, Pataxó Hã Hã Hã Hã and Tikuna were present. Among the agendas and claims of the first edition of the ATL were - The immediate approval of TI Raposa Serra do Sol (RR); - The resumption of recognition processes of other territories; - The acceleration of disintrusions and the repair of environmental damage caused within the ITs; - The effective guarantee of health and education according to the particularities of peoples and cultures; - Full participation in the formulation and social control of public policies that are aimed at indigenous communities; - The promulgation of Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which provides for prior, free and informed consultation of indigenous communities on any initiative that affects them; - The punishment of the murderers responsible for the 35 deaths that occurred in the 2003-2004 biennium; - Support for productive activities to enable sustainable development by indigenous communities. In a document to the authorities on April 17, 2004, the indigenous group stated: "The earth is our life. Source and guarantee of the physical and cultural survival of this and future generations. Therefore, it is urgent, necessary and legal to comply with the land regularization of all indigenous lands in Brazil." The results of the first march of Camp Terra Livre were more important than the initial group of 150 indigenous people could imagine. The effective promulgation of ILO Convention 169 through Decree 5.051/2004 occurred on April 19, 2004, in response to the mobilization. Two months later, on June 23, 2004, the Indigenous Rights Defense Forum (FDDI) was created in Brasilia, by indigenous and indigenist organizations. The following year, during the second edition of Camp Terra Livre, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) was created, the current responsible for organizing the mobilization. The Rapasa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land was approved by the Presidency of the Republic on April 15, 2005. In addition to achieving part of their claims, those leaders opened a new chapter in their history of resistance. What began with about 150 people turned into the largest indigenous mobilization in the country, which today demarcates the streets of Brasilia with the presence of thousands of indigenous people every year. The Terra Livre Camp, in addition to a space of political articulation, is a meeting place between the multiple knowledge and doings of the indigenous peoples of Brazil.’ Text: Brenda Okubo for socioambiental.org, ‘Hoje na História Socioambiental: Em 2004, primeiro Acampamento Terra Livre ocupa Brasília’ (https://www.socioambiental.org/noticias-socioambientais/hoje-na-historia-socioambiental-em-2004-primeiro-acampamento-terra-livre
2008: Brazil_Xingu Alive Forever Encounter, Altamira
Opposition to the construction of the Belo Monte Dam
'Cultures of Resistance was in Altamira in 2008 for the Xingu Alive Encounter—one of the largest-ever gatherings of Indigenous Brazilians—to witness the spectacular determination of the Amazon people to protect their way of life. Among other Indigenous leaders, the film highlights Tuíre Kayapó and her fierce defense of her traditional land.' Text: Cultures of Resistance (https://culturesofresistancefilms.com/battle-xingu/)
2019 Brazil_First Indigenous Women's March
Historic first Indigenous Women's March in Brasilia Brazil gains international attention
Over 2'500 indigenous women representing 130 different ethnic groups from all over Brazil gathered for the first time in history in August 2019 in Brazil's capital Brasília. With the Theme: "Territory: Our Body, our spirit" they reaffirmed their commitment to protect life in all its forms. Read more about their call in their final statement.
2021 Brazil_ATL 'Struggle for Life'
'Acampamento Luta Pela Vida - Struggle For Life Camp' Brasília, Brazil
'Acampamento Luta Pela Vida - Struggle For Life Camp' was the title of the In April 2021 more than 6000 indigenous peoples from all over Brazil gathered in Brasíla for their annual meeting which was entitled: 'Acampamento Luta Pela Vida - Struggle For Life Camp'. More Infos soon..
