Disintrusion at Arariboia Indigenous Land: meetings answer questions, reinforce commitment to indigenous peoples

The operation to remove illegal occupants from the Arariboia Indigenous Land (TI), in Maranhão, progresses with a series of meetings focused on dialogue and clarification about the ongoing process. Last week, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (Ministério dos Povos Indígenas /MPI), along with the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas /FUNAI) and other Federal Government agencies, visited Amarante to dialogue with local communities. This was the 6th ethnic region visited, out of the ten that make up the Indigenous Land.

"After so much time talking about our difficulties, the challenges, and invaders entering our territory, today we are here to discuss how we will combat this and bring benefits to the territory in an organized way," stated Minister Sonia Guajajara during the meeting with the communities.

After so much time talking about our difficulties, the challenges, and invaders entering our territory, today we are here to discuss how we will combat this and bring benefits to the territory in an organized way"
Sonia Guajajara,
Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples

PARTICIPATION – The Preliminary Work Plan for Visitations and Dialogue (Plano de Trabalho Preliminar para Visitação e Diálogo) has been promoting meetings in the ethnic regions of the territory, allowing indigenous leaders and communities to actively participate in discussions about the removal of invaders and the protection of their ancestral land.

These meetings, which will continue until Sunday, March 9, include representatives from the  Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples, the National Public Security Force (Força Nacional de Segurança Pública /FNSP), the Coordination of Organizations and Articulations of Indigenous Peoples of Maranhão (Coordenação das Organizações e Articulações dos Povos Indígenas do Maranhão /COAPIMA), and the Guajajara Guardians group, as well as other government agencies. The goal is to ensure that the operation is conducted with transparency and in line with the demands of the affected communities.

Minister Sonia Guajajara comes from the Arariboia Indigenous Land and has been involved since the early stages of organizing and advocating for its protection. She highlighted the territory's specific challenges, particularly the negative impacts of extensive cattle farming by non-Indigenous people within its borders.

"I am always pleased and proud in saying that I have been part of the first assembly of COCALITIA [Commission of Chiefs and Leaders of the Arariboia Indigenous Land], when we began discussing the organization of our territory. When we started discussing this, we were not talking about cattle; the threats were from illegal logging, which almost destroyed the entire territory. And it was by witnessing this destruction that the leaders understood they needed to organize themselves to prevent the destruction of Arariboia and, thus, preserve our home," Sonia recalled.

ISOLATED GROUP – In addition to protecting the local ecosystems, the territory has the particularity of the presence of the Awá-Guajá isolated group, which requires a greater effort to protect the territory and combat illegal actions to maintain their way of life, respecting their autonomy and their choice of voluntary isolation — a characteristic highlighted by Nilton Tubino, who is coordinating the operation. “The territory is for the enjoyment of the community as a whole. There is a very special feature here, with the isolated Indigenous people, another feature that deserves special care and attention,” said Tubino.

"This operation emerged from a cry for help from the communities, not only in Brazil. You also turned to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Therefore, it is important that the Federal Government agencies working on the operation comply with the court decision within the legal parameters," explained the coordinator.

FALSE INFORMATION – Concerns about the spread of false information were also raised during the meetings. Kari Guajajara, legal advisor to COAPIMA and the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira /COIAB), warned about the negative impacts of fake news, which create distrust and fear among indigenous people. "This meeting serves to clarify all questions about the disintrusion process. The farms are removing the markers that delimit the Indigenous Land and advancing on our territory. Disintrusion means removing these illegal activities so we can exercise our autonomy," she explained.

The meetings have allowed communities to express their concerns and highlight priorities for the operation’s execution, reinforcing the commitment to respecting the social organization of Indigenous peoples. Since the beginning of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration and the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the Arariboia Indigenous Land has become the seventh territory to undergo the disintrusion process, reaffirming the government’s commitment to defending Indigenous rights.

ARARIBÓIA – The Arariboia Indigenous Territory spans approximately 413,000 hectares and is located across the municipalities of Amarante, Bom Jesus das Selvas, Arame, Buriticupu, Santa Luzia, and Grajaú, in the Brazilian state Maranhão. Officially recognized in 1990 for the Awá and Guajajara peoples, the territory is home to around 150 villages.

The disintrusion of the Arariboia Indigenous Territory began on February 10 and is part of the actions determined by the Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal /STF) in the Claim of Violation of a Fundamental Precept (Arguição de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental /ADPF) 709, as well as complying with a precautionary measure from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Coordinated by the Office of the Chief of Staff, the operation involves the participation of 20 federal agencies, consolidating a joint effort to ensure the protection of Indigenous peoples and the integrity of their territories.

TECHNOLOGIES – To strengthen monitoring and territorial oversight, the operation relies on cutting-edge technology. The Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (Centro Gestor e Operacional do Sistema de Proteção da Amazônia  /CENSIPAM), an agency linked to the Ministry of Defense (Ministério da Defesa), uses high-tech drones to identify areas of deforestation and illegal settlements. Recent overflights detected new degraded areas in the southern part of the Indigenous Land, as well as a significant presence of cattle, providing critical information to guide field teams.