The Xavante Indians
were expelled from their land in 1967. In 1998,
the demarcation of the place was completed. However, five years
after this demarcation was registered, 80 Xavante are still
camped close to the area waiting for a judicial decision that
would finally make it possible for them to enter the land.
by: Cimi
"I am here. I took off my shirt to show you where the farmer stabbed
me. I bled a lot, but I didn’t die. I am not here aimlessly, I am here to
try and find solutions to the issue of the Maráiwatsedé land."
Pointing to the scars in his abdomen and head left by knife wounds inflicted
by invaders of his land and saying these words in his own language, the Xavante
chief Raul Fxeretsu touched the hearts of all the participants in the seminar:
"Indigenous Lands in Mato Grosso: the Issue of the Maráiwatsedé
Land of the Xavante People," held January 27 at the auditorium of the
Rondon Museum at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), in Cuiabá.
In his statement, Raul
also explained that the he had been wounded in a conflict in which, in addition
to the stabs he got, five indigenous people were murdered.
The Xavante were expelled
from the Maráiwatsedé land where, in 1967, the Suiá Missú
farm was established. In 1998, the demarcation of the land was completed.
However, even after their land was demarcated, its bounds officially confirmed,
and the area was registered 5 years ago, 80 Xavante are still camped next
to the BR-158 highwaynear the municipality of Alto Boa Vista, 1,063
km from Cuiabáwaiting for a judicial decision that would finally
make it possible for the indigenous people to enjoy their right to stay in
the land, as provided for in the Brazilian Constitution.
In the opinion of one
of the speakers in the seminar, Deputy Attorney and coordinator of the 6th
Chamber of the Federal Prosecution Service, Ela Wiecko, the Judiciary Branch
has tended to support the property right to the detriment of the right to
remain alive and of the rights of indigenous people.
For this reason, she believes
that "indigenous people should not engage in any negotiations. There
is no doubt that they have the right to live in their lands. They have an
original right that precedes the property right and the creation of the Brazilian
State."
During the seminar, the
rector of the Federal University of Mato Grosso, Paulo Speller, took on the
commitment to organize a signed petition in favor of the struggle of the Xavante
people of the Maráiwatsedé land and assign the Rondon Museum
to collect the signatures.
In addition to the deputy
attorney and the rector, the seminar was attended by the deputy secretary
of the Indianist Missionary Council, Sebastião Moreira; by the anthropologist
of the 6th Chamber of the Federal Prosecution Service, Marco Paulo
Schettino and by the professor at the UFMT and anthropologist, Edir Pina.
Joining the Struggle
Representatives of social
movements, such as unions, land movements, and nongovernmental organizations
engaged in actions to defend human rights, met at the end of January in Campo
Grande to issue a letter in support of the actions of the Guarani Nhandeva
people to reoccupy their lands in the south region of the state of Mato Grosso
do Sul.
In addition to announcing
the support of organized civil society to the struggle of the indigenous people,
the organizations listed in the letter will fight against the proposal of
the government of the state to buy the lands from farmers to give them to
the indigenous people. By doing this, the social movements are indicating
that they want the lands to be demarcated immediately, according to the provisions
of the Brazilian Constitution.
The group has plans to
stage a march in support of the Guarani Nhandeva people and to collect provisions
to be sent to them.
Cimi is Brazil’s Indianist Missionary Council, an organization linked to
CNBB, National Conference of Brazilian Bishops. You can get in touch with
them by sending an email to cimi@embratel.net.br