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THE WIDER IMAGE


IN THE AMAZON, AN INDIGENOUS TREK MARKS TERRITORY WHERE BRAZIL IS ABSENT



Juarez Saw poses for a picture holding a demarcation sign during the expedition
of Munduruku people to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous
Territory, Brazil, July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

THE WIDER IMAGE


IN THE AMAZON, AN INDIGENOUS TREK MARKS TERRITORY WHERE BRAZIL IS ABSENT






IN THE AMAZON, AN INDIGENOUS TREK MARKS TERRITORY WHERE BRAZIL IS ABSENT



By Adriano Machado

Filed Aug. 7, 2024, 1 p.m. GMT


Photography and reporting by Adriano Machado
Writing by Anthony Boadle

Filed: August 7, 2024, 1 p.m. GMT

Fifty Munduruku warriors hack their way with machetes through the undergrowth of
the Amazon rainforest, marking the borders of their ancestral lands to finish a
task that the Brazilian government has not.

Clearing a path six meters (20 feet) wide through dense vegetation, often
darkened by the forest canopy above, the Munduruku men stop every kilometer to
nail signs to the trunks of trees, reading: “Federal Government, Sawre Muybu
Territory, Protected Land.”

It is a quiet but defiant act from a people fighting for decades to urge
Brazil’s government to fully recognize their ancestral lands, a move that would
grant legal protections against loggers, miners — and even the government’s own
infrastructure projects.

“This is not our job. It’s the government’s obligation to demarcate Indigenous
lands, but they are not doing it,” said Juarez Saw, chief of Sawre Muybu, a
Munduruku village, after his men put up the 20th and final plaque of their
eight-day trek last month.


Rosinei Puxu nails a demarcation sign to a tree during an expedition of
Munduruku people as they mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous
Territory, in Itaituba municipality, Para state, Brazil, July 17, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Daniela Waru stands holding her baby nearby other Munduruku Indigenous people in
the Amazon rainforest during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre
Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Brazil’s Indigenous affairs agency Funai said it was short-staffed but working
to establish the boundaries of ancestral lands, a process that ground to a halt
under the last government.

The Munduruku men are accompanied on the expedition by women and children from
the village. At the community jungle camp, where hammocks swing between trees,
women prepare food: rice, manioc flour and game. When the hunters cannot find a
wild pig, they dine on monkeys. As they cook, young Munduruku jump into the
river playfully.

The last time the Munduruku cleared this territory’s borders was a decade ago,
enough time for the world’s largest rainforest to erase their work with
overgrown vegetation.

“We have been struggling to protect this land for 25 years. We continue to clean
the borders to keep them alive,” the chief said. “If we don’t, more loggers and
miners will invade.”


Munduruku Indigenous people stand in the Amazon rainforest during an expedition
to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, Brazil, July 19,
2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous women perform a ritual dance to thank the spirits of the
forest in the Amazon rainforest, during an expedition to mark the frontier of
the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado

The Sawre Muybu territory includes some 1,780 square kilometers (690 sq miles)
of jungle on the banks of the Tapajos river, a once pristine tributary of the
Amazon that is still one of Brazil's only major rivers without a hydroelectric
dam.

The area has faced rising invasions from illegal loggers and gold miners
polluting the rivers and poisoning the fish that feed the Munduruku with
life-threatening levels of mercury.

The Munduruku'’s fight to defend their land is also part of the battle to keep
the Amazon from passing a point of no return, according to environmental
advocates. The knowledge, practices and legal status of Brazil’s Indigenous
people make them ideal guardians of the rainforest, which is key to slowing
global warming, environmentalists say.

The formal demarcation of an Indigenous territory is a key step in securing
protections guaranteed in Brazil’s constitution. President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva took office last year vowing to resume the process of recognizing new
reservations, which his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro had halted.

























REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous person Dimas Boro and his family.



REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Solimar Ferreira, a river dweller who helps the Munduruku people to demarcate
the land.



REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous person Juquita Akay.




Hunting anaconda

The Munduruku’s expedition to mark their land began on winding rivers with five
long outboard skiffs plying their way slowly below a cover of dense vegetation.

One day, the expedition came across an anaconda in the river and prepared to
kill the huge constrictor, whose fat is used by the Munduruku for its
anti-inflammatory properties. But the snake was so swollen from swallowing its
recent prey that they could not pull it from the water.

When the hunters came back with a capuchin monkey on another day, a Munduruku
boy ran forward to save two baby monkeys clinging to their mother. He took them
into his care and carried them for the rest of the 36-kilometer trek.


A drone view shows a line of Munduruku Indigenous people walking in an area of
the Amazon rainforest during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre
Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 21, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

The Munduruku, who were armed with old shotguns for hunting game, also came
across illegal gold mine camps on the expedition in encounters that were tense
but peaceful.

Since taking power over a year-and-a-half ago, Lula’s government has recognized
10 new reservations. There are 62 Indigenous territories awaiting his signature,
and about 200 more under study or with defined borders but still unprotected by
the government, making them vulnerable to invasion.

While Indigenous advocates would like the government to speed up the process,
Lula's promises have drawn backlash from a conservative Congress, the powerful
farm lobby and some of his own political allies who say more roads, railways and
power plants are needed in the Amazon to generate jobs.


Munduruku Indigenous people sail in small boats on a tributary of the Tapajos
river, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous
Territory, in Brazil, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Deka Munduruku and Mondria Munduruku lie down in a small boat on a tributary of
the Tapajos river, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu
Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Hanging over the Munduruku’s push to demarcate the Sawre Muybu land is a plan to
build a hydroelectric dam that could flood most of the territory. The 8,000
megawatt project was shelved in 2016 by environmental agency Ibama for failing
to consult the Munduruku or provide proper impact studies.

In May, the recently privatized power company Eletrobras asked to update those
studies, according to regulator Aneel.

Eletrobras did not reply to a request for comment.

“That shows they have not given up on the project,” said Suely Araujo, who as
Ibama president archived the plan.


A Munduruku Indigenous person carries a demarcation sign in small boat on the
Tapajos river, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu
Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Rosinei Puxu swims in the Tapajos river during an expedition to mark the
frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 16, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado

The Sawre Muybu territory also faces an indirect threat from government plans to
build a 1,000-km railway for grain exports from farm state Mato Grosso to a port
on the Tapajos, where barges ferry harvests to larger ships on the Amazon.

Indigenous leaders fear the train project, backed by farmers and multinational
grain traders to cut transportation costs, may ease access to their land for
loggers, land grabbers and miners.

The Munduruku, who number some 17,000 today, have lived for thousands of years
along the middle and upper reaches of the Tapajos river in 11 territories — only
two of which have full recognition and legal protection from the government.


Alessandra Munduruku poses for a picture as she leads an expedition to mark the
frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 19, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Funai completed a study in 2013 establishing the Munduruku claim to the Sawre
Muybu land, but no government has taken the next step of officially demarcating
the territory’s borders.

Tribe member and activist Alessandra Munduruku said at the camp that this lack
of demarcation encouraged miners, loggers “and the invasion of our lands.”

“We are not begging, we are defending our rights,” she said. “And we won’t give
up.”

























A drone view shows boats carrying Munduruku Indigenous people through a
tributary of the Tapajos river, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the
Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado


An excavator used for illegal mining is seen submerged in a lagoon near
Indigenous land during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu
Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


A drone view shows a line of Munduruku Indigenous people walking in an area of
the Amazon rainforest deforested by illegal miners during an expedition to mark
the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 21, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado


A Munduruku Indigenous man carries a demarcation sign during an expedition to
mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 18,
2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Rosinei Puxu nails a sign to a tree during an expedition to mark the frontier of
the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado


Butterflies fly over a stream where Munduruku Indigenous people bathe, in Koro
Muybu village, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu
Indigenous Territory, in Brazil July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku children swim in a tributary of the Tapajos river, during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 21, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku children swim in a tributary of the Tapajos river during an expedition
to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July
21, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people find a large anaconda by a tributary of the Tapajos
river, during an expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous
Territory, in Brazil, July 21, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people are seen in the Tapajos river during an expedition
as they mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil,
July 21, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people sail in small boats on the Tapajos river during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people paint each other with annatto dye, as part of a
cultural practice in which Munduruku paint themselves for war and defend their
territory, during a meeting at Sawre Muybu village, in Brazil, July 15, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people paint each other with annatto dye, during a meeting
at Sawre Muybu village, in Brazil, July 15, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people paint each other with annatto dye, during a meeting
at Sawre Muybu village, in Brazil, July 15, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Daniela Waru seats in a hammock during an expedition to mark the frontier of the
Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado


Deka Munduruku paints the face of Mondria Munduruku during an expedition to mark
the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 17, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Mondria Munduruku looks down during an expedition to mark the frontier of the
Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in Brazil, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano
Machado


Munduruku Indigenous people roast wild pigs, which they hunted during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Graciete Waru recovers in a hammock after being stung by a scorpion during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


Boro Bijmepu holds a baby capuchin monkey in the Amazon rainforest during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


A macaw is seen in Sawre Muybu village, in Brazil, July 22, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado


An engine used during illegal mining is abandoned near Indigenous land during an
expedition to mark the frontier of the Sawre Muybu Indigenous Territory, in
Brazil, July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado


A drone view shows a clandestine landing strip for an illegal mining area next
to Indigenous land, in Itaituba municipality, Para state, Brazil, July 21, 2024.
REUTERS/Adriano Machado



The Wider Image

Photography and reporting: Adriano Machado

Writing: Anthony Boadle

Photo editing and design: Eve Watling and Maye-E Wong

Text editing: Brad Haynes and Rosalba O’Brien



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