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Story Publication logo September 25, 2022

Waimiri Atroaris Resist the Highway, Mining Company, Power Plant, Transmission Line, and Fight Against the Temporal Mark (Portuguese)

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many tree trunks and fires in deforested land
English

President Jair Bolsonaro ignored the obligation to demarcate indigenous lands in Brazil, renewed the...

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This story excerpt was translated from Portuguese. To read the original story in full, visit Folha de São Paulo. You may also view the original story on the Rainforest Journalism Fund website here. The RJF website is available in English, Spanish, bahasa Indonesia, French, and Portuguese.


Kinjas, as they call themselves, say that the measures adopted by the Bolsonaro government will limit the extension of the demarcation of the territory, determined by the Justice.


Adults and children play in a stream near the Mynawa village, in the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous land, during a meeting to discuss the threat to the territory and the Temporal Landmark. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress, Brazil, 2022.

WAIMIRI ATROARI INDIGENOUS LAND (AM)—A three-dimensional sound invades the ears at the entrance to the Mynawa (pronounced munaua) village in the center of the Waimiri Atroari indigenous land. It comes from voices with distinct timbers, chants from different spaces, and footsteps marked on the ground by hundreds of men and women lined up in a human corridor. It is a cultural manifestation, in an unprecedented gathering and protest.

The kinjas (pronounced quinhás), as the indigenous people of the territory call themselves, are gathered for the first time for a discussion against the Temporal Milestone, a thesis embraced by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL)—to the point of suggesting that he would disregard any decision by the STF (Supreme Court) on the matter—and limiting the demarcation of indigenous lands.

There are about 700 kinjas, from 40 different villages, gathered for days in the Mynawa village—almost 30% of the 2,439 kinjas that live today in 74 villages. Folha was invited to accompany the meeting.


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Village on the banks of the Balbina hydroelectric reservoir, within the Waimiri-Atroari Indigenous land. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.

Tempe Germano leader observes dead trees in the area flooded by the Balbina hydroelectric dam. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.

Indigenous people perform a protective dance at the entrance of an area that symbolizes the territory of this people, in the Mynawa village. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.

Waimiri-Atroari Indians participate in a ceremony in the Mynawa village. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.

Adults and children play in a stream near the Mynawa village. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.

A stretch of BR-174 that crosses the Waimiri-Atroari indigenous land. Image by Lalo de Almeida/Folhapress. Brazil, 2022.