The Munduruku are at war against illegal land grabbers, logging, ranching, mining,
and a president who's only encouraging more of it.
We came to Brazil to witness firsthand
what it's like to defend your dying homeland, the Amazon.
So this is it, Itaituba, this place is a huge boom town. There's a lot of industry around here.
We've got mining. We've got logging, most of that is illegal. But this river basin
is also home to the Munduruku people. And that's where I'm headed.
The next morning I met Alessandra Korap Munduruku,
a fiery leader who in a video that went viral denounced Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro
for stripping indigenous people of their territories and rights.
The Munduruku live in the forests along the Tapajos River and depend on it
for their survival after years of protest, they defeated a
dam project, in 2016, that would have drowned their village and flooded an
area the size of New York City.
What is it about this part of the Amazon
that is so attractive to the extraction industry?
Although the Munduruku have lived here for centuries, they're still battling for official
recognition of their tribal territory.
Alessandra is saying that the water is so much milkier and muddier out here
because of the nearby mining that's happening. The dredging is sort of
kicking up all the sediment and completely polluting their water.
And things have only gotten worse since
since Bolsonaro took office.
We made it.
It feels different here. It's really beautiful.
A key to the Munduruku success in fighting off major extraction plans has
been allying with NGOs and filmmakers who quickly spread the word and gather
support when pressure is mounting. Christian Poirier is a program director
with Amazon watch and visits Munduruku territory often.
The election of Jair Bolsonaro really opened the floodgates to the deforestation, the destruction,
that we're seeing today. His message was that I'm not going to demarcate another
centimeter of indigenous territories. He said that landowners have the right
to take what is there and I'm going to arm them so this of course sends a
message that violence, land-grabbing and other illegality will be
tolerated, in fact, maybe even encouraged under his leadership.
Who was he trying to appeal to? What's his voting base?
The government of a Bolsonaro is in bed with Brazil's agro-industrial sector.
They helped bring him to power and they will keep him there as long as he's doing their bidding.
The next day I woke up to Alessandra preparing to confront miners.
And why are you painting this morning?
And they really do feel they're at war. Other tribes in the Amazon have
been forced to flee or have been injured or even killed by armed miners and loggers.
Your new president is very encouraging of gun use.
Does that add an extra level of fear for you?
But I know that you're a mother. So that must be tough for you,
to want to fight for your community but also know that you're responsible to your children.
Over the past few years, Brazil has seen the rise of leaders like Sonia Guajajara, who is one of the
first indigenous people to run for a federal executive office.
And Joenia Wapixana, she's the country's first indigenous lawyer and congresswoman.
We set out with a few young warriors, to look for mining operations that have set up on Munduruku territory.
This morning, Alessandra is taking me to an open pit gold and diamond mine.
This is just another example of the encroachment that is happening on Munduruku land.
What have your interactions been with this particular project?
Here we are.
Once we got to the mine, Alessandra started pointing out signs of recent activity.
So if these tractor tracks are fresh, that probably means that they're moving further and further into
the rainforest, to try to extract whatever they can.
This is absolutely huge.
How does this make you feel?
Are there members of the Munduruku community who want to be working in the extraction industries,
who want to modernize their life and leave behind the traditional ways?
You know that's a long road to travel up from the riverbed. So to get all this equipment and
infrastructure up here must have taken quite a few people, gives me a sense that
this is a pretty big mining operation.
A lot of the permits and licenses found in the Amazon are fake
or signed off by someone in the community.
It's all part of the lawlessness of the place.
This is the mining license?
Wow, it was signed off on in 2014, though, August, right?
These days Alessandra splits her time between the city and her village.
The next morning Alessandra invited me to join her in the stream to wash up and
cool down before she hits the road once again.
Have you been bathing in the stream since you were a little girl?
This time, Alessandra is headed to the city, to attend a safety training for activists.
Alessandra, I'll take it for you. You can say goodbye to everyone.
You ready to go?
Her departure coincided with an annual event called demarcation
where the Munduruku literally mark their territory.
When land invaders don't respect the territorial lines of the Munduruku
territory, what happens?
But it's not enough just to mark the land. The Brazilian government needs to make it official
and Bolsonaro has already shown he's unwilling.
Just saw the arrival of over
sixty Munduruku warriors they've been coming from across the Tapajos River,
just for the annual demarcation.
Chief Juarez have gathered a few of the warriors to start opening up the trail,
this is the first step of the demarcation walk.
The Munduruku's territory covers more than four hundred and forty thousand acres and it can take
the Warriors several weeks to mark its boundaries. They do this by using
machetes to slash pathways through branches and vines. Sometimes they run
into wildlife or even miners and loggers. There's a stream. This stream marks the
beginning of the Munduruku territory.
Let's have a look.
This is it, what we're looking for, the official demarcation plate.
How many years ago did you put that one up?
Chief Juarez, what does this land mean to you?
Hey, it's Gelareh from Goodbye Earth, thank you so much for watching the episode
and traveling deep into the Amazon with me., where I witness the Munduruku defending
their territory. I'd love to know what you thought of the episode and if you
want more from us, be sure to subscribe.