- At the end of April, about 60 Munduruku Indigenous people from several villages in Pará traveled more than 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) to participate in the 19th Acampamento Terra Livre (the “Free Land Camp,” known as ATL), the largest gathering of Brazil ‘s original peoples, held in Brasília.
- Among the group were the young people of the Wakoborũn Audiovisual Collective, who, in addition to documenting the event, conducted a long interview with one of their main leaders, Maria Leusa Munduruku.
- In this interview, Maria Leusa talks about the challenges of being a female Indigenous leader, the violence that her people have suffered from prospectors and the dream of seeing Munduruku territory finally demarcated.
At the end of April, about 60 Munduruku Indigenous people from several villages in Pará traveled more than 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) to Brasília to participate in the 19th Acampamento Terra Livre (the “Free Land Camp,” known as ATL), the largest gathering of Brazil’s original peoples.
Among the group were the young people of the Wakoborũn Audiovisual Collective with their cameras, microphones and tripods. In addition to documenting the event, their mission was to produce a video interview with one of their people’s main leaders, Maria Leusa Munduruku, coordinator of the Wakoborũn Women’s Association and a law student at the Federal University of Western Pará. Both the collective and the association bear the same woman’s name, that of an ancient Munduruku warrior who recovered her brother’s head, which her enemies had been using as a trophy.
The makeshift studio for the interview was assembled between the tents where the Indigenous people had settled, surrounded by loudspeakers, under a black tarp that served to soften the relentless Cerrado heat and before the eyes of curious members of international NGOs.
Seated on a wooden stool for a little over an hour, Maria Leusa cleared some time from her busy schedule of strategic commitments and talked to the young people about the Indigenous struggle, demarcation of territory, the resumption of Indigenist policies and the invasion of illegal miners. She also spoke about a delicate subject, one which she would rather forget: the attack she suffered in 2021 when invading miners set fire to her home.
At the end of the ATL, the Indigenous people witnessed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signing the ratification of six Indigenous territories in Brazil. It was a relief after an imposed four-year drought, in which the previous administration halted all the processes of new demarcations.
The Munduruku delegation left the 2023 ATL with real hopes: They had been received by the president of Funai (the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples), Joenia Wapichana; Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara; and other authorities. This time, they were personally promised that their territory would be definitively demarcated, a process that had awaited approval for years while they fought the advance of hydroelectric plants, prospectors and soybean farming.
Mongabay: What are the Munduruku delegation’s objectives at the 2023 Free Land Camp?
Maria Leusa: Kabia [good morning]. First of all, I give thanks to our god, Karosakaybu. We’re here, together with the other peoples, in the year 2023, once again participating in the Free Land Camp. The Munduruku delegation came with people from various villages of the Tapajós, Tropas, Cabitutu, Cururu and Teles Pires rivers. Our objective is to demand the demarcation of our territory, especially the Sawre Muybu, which is in the declaratory process, as well as Sawre Bapin and other territories. We demand oversight, which is the government’s obligation, to guarantee security, to protect the Indigenous peoples. The current situation in our territory is very difficult. We’re bringing the resistance and voice of the Munduruku people to the ATL, also sharing experiences with the relatives from other peoples, who are suffering under the same difficult situation too.
Mongabay: What is the importance of the ATL for Indigenous peoples?
Maria Leusa: It’s a time to come together, to share the energy of our people with other relatives who are in the same struggle for territory, education, health care and everything else. We’re here listening to many voices, and this union strengthens us. It’s a space of opportunity, a very special moment for us, to be here in Brasília, occupying, showing the resistance of all Indigenous peoples. To show the government that never again will there be a Brazil without us; to show that the Indigenous must have their space and their place in the world.
Mongabay: What were the most important moments of the ATL for the Munduruku delegation?
Maria Leusa: It was very exciting when we were welcomed by President Joenia [Wapichana] of Funai. We didn’t believe that over 60 Munduruku, children, women and caciques would manage to get inside because we’ve been barred on several occasions. Many times we came to Brasília and were barred from Funai itself, attempting to have a dialogue with the president. This time, the president welcomed us in the Funai auditorium. She listened to our demand that a declaration be signed in the process of demarcating the Sawre Muybu Territory. And she signed it, right there in front of everyone. It was a breakthrough with great results. It was a victory, an accomplishment for us.
On another agenda, our delegation was received at the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples by Minister Sonia Guajajara. We got good news about our demarcation process. They’re giving us their word that they will demarcate, protect and oversee the territory. We feel a difference. Today, we’re able to dialogue with the government.
Mongabay: How did you begin to act as a leader, and why did you do it?
Maria Leusa: I started out during the Ibaorebu [an integrated secondary education project in Munduruku Territory], where we had training for eight years. Today I’m proud to say that I was educated through the exchange of experiences and participation with wise elders, healers, singers, painters, prayer-sayers. From there, I coordinated the Ipereg Ayu movement, which fought against the construction of hydroelectric dams in the Teles Pires and Tapajós river basins. After they built the hydroelectric plants and destroyed our sacred sites, we saw that we were going to have to collaborate because the men would not be able to do it on their own. Inspired by the story of our warrior Wakoborũn, I realized that women had to participate in the fight. We organized the Wakoborũn Women’s Association and we’re still fighting. We managed to stop the project for a hydroelectric plant in São Luiz do Tapajós. We managed to recover our funeral urns and we blocked new illegal mines from entering the Cururu River region. Our struggle is great.
Mongabay: What is the role of an Indigenous leader?
Maria Leusa: Our main role is to care for and defend our territory. To help our cacique. It’s not just me. There are other women who are in the fight, in the base. We become mothers, so we are here today to defend the lives of our children. To form future generations, to guarantee our autonomy, our rights, which are in the Constitution.
Mongabay: How do you reconcile the fact of being a mother and grandmother with the struggle of a leader?
Maria Leusa: Today, I have five children. Dedicating myself to the struggle isn’t easy. I had to leave the house, leave the farm, leave the family and share the work with my husband. I tell him that it’s our obligation to take care of them, so we share this work of taking care of the children. Sometimes I take my babies with me on my appointments. I carry young children, as is the case here at the ATL. My 6-year-old daughter, Vitória, came with me. She always accompanies me in the international struggle, at the base, in the oversight. I have to divide myself and that makes me strong too. If we don’t fight for our children and grandchildren, if we keep quiet, we won’t achieve anything. I also had to leave my village and go to university because we need to share and strengthen the struggle in the university as well.
Mongabay: What is it like to be a female leader? Have you suffered prejudice?
Maria Leusa: Today we are very respected by our caciques and authorities, but we did suffer a lot of prejudice. Before, men thought that woman were only interested in going out, in taking little trips. They thought the authorities would only deal with male leaders. Today we’re a priority: When they see women coming with their demands, men have a lot of respect. There is still prejudice, but it’s unlikely for men to say it to our faces, so these days they talk behind our backs.
Mongabay: You have suffered attacks. Your house was set on fire by prospectors and, to this day, you suffer from persecution and violence. What’s it like to be threatened with death in your territory? Does that intimidate you?
Maria Leusa: We have always suffered this together, but we didn’t give up fighting. We are defending our territory and not what belongs to the pariwat [non-Indigenous]. When they attacked me, we had already suffered the depredation of our organization in Jacareacanga. We know that there is no security in the municipality of Jacareacanga; the state has never considered, and I think it still doesn’t consider, the issue of security. We even brought a suit against the police department.
The attack on my village was shortly after the Federal Police operation [Operation Mundurukania, executed in conjunction with the Federal Highway Police, IBAMA and the National Force]. I even thought they had killed my parents. Seeing that house on fire was a desperate moment for me, my mother, my sister. The people [prospectors] were shooting at our feet, throwing fuel to set on fire. It was a horror. At the time of the attack, I was caring for my daughter, who was sick with malaria. I was unable to take action against the relatives [Indigenous people in favor of illegal mining, co-opted by the prospectors] attacking us. I just said, “If you want to kill me, kill me, but I’m not leaving my house. I’m in my village and I’m not leaving.” According to my mother, she’s the one who got me out of the house when it was on fire. She told me that I couldn’t die, that our struggle was too long and that our people needed us. She, who is a cacica, sent the message that she wasn’t going to shut up.
After the attack, we had to leave the territory because there was no security. We had to leave and look for support in another municipality, demand our rights, report everything that was happening to us. Even though we lost the house, we didn’t get discouraged. We thank our god, Karosakaybu, that we didn’t lose our lives there. We had a lot of support from our warriors and the women who stayed with us. It was very powerful for us to continue in this fight.
Mongabay: What is the biggest challenge in Munduruku territory?
Maria Leusa: It’s the issue of illegal mining. There have been more and more diseases with these invasions.
The Munduruku, the Kayapó the Yanomami and other peoples are facing this sad situation because there are invaders everywhere. In the Munduruku Territory, the miners were no longer able to advance on the side where we no longer allow them. Before, they would attack in every way, from all sides. Today, we don’t have this because they saw that there is strong resistance from the men and women warriors.
In terms of contamination from mining, we were surprised to learn that we received a very high level of mercury, after Fiocruz [a public health research institute located in Rio de Janeiro] began to do tests on the Munduruku people to measure the contamination. We don’t know what the symptoms of this mercury contamination are like, but today we feel it. There are many children with disabilities, people losing movement in their legs and arms. Especially pregnant women who feel this today in their bodies. Watching our children suffer is a very sad and revolting thing. We ask that they continue doing these tests and find a solution. This cannot happen. Let them show this to the world so that it’s not repeated against the Indigenous peoples. We have to start alerting our relatives, showing them that this is real, that it’s true, that it’s happening.
Mongabay: What is the importance of the Wakoborũn Audiovisual Collective?
Maria Leusa: The work of these young people in the collective is very important. It was a victory getting the young people there because it’s not easy when we’re in the phase of youth. We tell them that the fight isn’t just ours, the mothers; that it’s for them that we fight, for them to continue. We help a lot by guiding and accompanying them. When we see a young man or young woman there filming, recording, publicizing the fight, we tell them that this is a weapon for us. So they have to learn how to use it. With this work, we’re able to fortify our struggle.
Today the Munduruku people have three collectives: Daje Kapap Eypi, Da’uk and Wakoborũn. We need to bring more young people to these collectives. We have to continue training. This work is very important. To show the pariwat who think that only they can do [audiovisual documentation], that yes, we can do it. Today the young people of the collectives are able to create, to document, to film everything and publicize the struggle.
Mongabay: Would you like to leave one last message?
Maria Leusa: The most important thing is that we will continue fighting, even after the demarcation of Sawre Muybu Territory. And we will not allow any more invasions. We will keep telling the relatives not to fall for this greed; that it’s a disease when it takes hold on the people. We will continue firm in our fight and with great strength. For our land, water, education and health. This message is for my friends, women, young people and caciques. The fight will continue. There are several territories in the process of demarcation, such as Sawre Bapin and others. We will continue to fight for the demarcation, protection and self-demarcation of the territory. We will continue our autonomous oversight and our grassroots struggles. From the time of our ancestors, nothing has come for free. It has always been a struggle to achieve. These invasions and enterprises will not stop. This is also why our resistance continues.
Banner image: Maria Leusa Munduruku in a protest march during the 2023 Free Land Camp in Brasília. Image courtesy of Fernando Martinho/Wakoborũn Audiovisual Collective.
This story was reported by Mongabay’s Brazil team and first published here on our Brazil site on June 5, 2023.