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<h1><b>Indigenous people in Brazil shed tears of joy as the Supreme Court
enshrines their land rights in win for president
Lula</b></h1>
<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/">
22 September 2023</a> -
<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/#respond">
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<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/" eudora="autourl">
https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/<br>
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</a></font><h3><b>In several former European colonies, such as Vancouver,
Canada and Australia, rights to freely inhabit and work reservation
lands, formerly under private ownership or otherwise threatened, are
being returned to indigenous
people</b></h3>
<a href="https://tlio.org.uk/indigenous-people-in-brazil-shed-tears-of-joy-as-the-supreme-court-enshrines-their-land-rights-in-win-for-president-lula/https://apnews.com/video/brazil-indigenous-people-brasilia-courts-supreme-court-of-the-united-states-9e269935f0f14d4d876339490240e769">
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) Indigenous people celebrated Thursday after
Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled to enshrine their land rights, removing the
imminent threat those protections could be rolled back.</a><br><br>
<img src="cid:7.0.1.0.1.20230922124656.08a2bb28@cultureshop.org.uk.0" width=768 height=512 alt="Emacs!">
<br><br>
<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tears-of-joy-after-brazils-supreme-court-makes-milestone-ruling-on-indigenous-lands/ar-AA1h4Prn" eudora="autourl">
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/tears-of-joy-after-brazils-supreme-court-makes-milestone-ruling-on-indigenous-lands/ar-AA1h4Prn<br>
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</a>The justices had been evaluating a lawsuit brought by Santa Catarina
state, backed by farmers, seeking to block an Indigenous group from
expanding the size of its territorial claim. Nearly all of the high
court’s justices voted to support the Indigenous group, which has
far-reaching implications for territories nationwide.<br><br>
Dozens of Indigenous people in traditional yellow feather headdresses and
body paint danced, sang and jumped around in front of a multitude of
flashing cameras in the capital of Brasilia after the decisive vote was
cast. Some wiped away tears of joy.<br><br>
“I’m shaking. It took a while, but we did it. It’s a very beautiful and
strong feeling. Our ancestors are present no doubt about it,” said
Jéssica Nghe Mum Priprá, who is from the Xokleng-Laklano Indigenous
group.<br><br>
In the case before the court, Santa Catarina state argued a legal theory
being pushed by opponents of further land allocations for Indigenous
groups. It said that the date Brazil’s Constitution was promulgated
Oct. 5, 1988 should be the deadline for when Indigenous peoples to have
already either physically occupied land or be legally fighting to
reoccupy territory. They also claimed it would provide legal certainty
for landholders.<br><br>
Nine of the court’s 11 justices rejected that argument.<br><br>
<img src="cid:7.0.1.0.1.20230922123957.04c73f30@cultureshop.org.uk.1" width=600 height=400 alt="Emacs!">
<br><br>
“Areas occupied by Indigenous people and areas that are linked to the
ancestry and tradition of Indigenous peoples have constitutional
protection, even if they are not demarcated,” said Justice Luiz Fux, who
cast the vote that established the majority.<br><br>
The two justices who voted to support Santa Catarina’s position were
appointed by the President Jair Bolsonaro, who was a vocal opponent of
expanding Indigenous territories and supported their
assimilation.<br><br>
Indigenous rights groups argued the concept of the deadline was unfair,
saying it does not account for expulsions and forced displacements of
Indigenous populations, particularly during Brazil’s two-decade military
dictatorship.<br><br>
The lawsuit put at risk the status of Brazil’s hundreds of Indigenous
territories, said rights group Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of
Brazil, known by the Portuguese acronym Apib.<br><br>
Large groups of Indigenous men and women from different states and
ethnicities had gathered in and around Brasilia in recent months during
the high court’s deliberations.<br><br>
Francisco Cali Tzay, the U.N. special investigator on the rights of
Indigenous peoples, had urged Brazil’s Supreme Court to protect
Indigenous lands.<br><br>
“Under the constitution, Indigenous peoples are entitled to the permanent
possession of the lands they traditionally occupy,” Tzay said in a 2021
statement.<br><br>
He said a ruling in favor of business interests “could legitimize
violence against Indigenous peoples and inflame conflicts in the Amazon
rainforest and other areas.”<br><br>
Though the case involved only one Indigenous group, the Supreme Court
gave it “general repercussion” status, meaning the ruling will serve as a
precedent for all instances of justice involving Indigenous
groups.<br><br>
It thus applies to hundreds of administrative procedures and legislative
initiatives that are in progress and is likely to torpedo a proposal in
Congress to enact the same 1988 deadline.<br><br>
However, that legislation also carries other threats to Indigenous
rights, potentially opening the door to an easing of restrictions on
mining, dam construction, agricultural and transportation projects in
Indigenous lands.<br><br>
“We’ve won the battle, but not the war,” Dinamam Tuxá, executive
coordinator of Apib, said in Brasilia. “We will continue to fight for
Indigenous territories to be demarcated, so that the rights of indigenous
peoples are safeguarded and protected.”<br><br>
Since taking office in January, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has
given significantly more attention to the demands of Indigenous peoples
than his predecessor, Bolsonaro.<br><br>
He created the country’s first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, headed by
Indigenous woman Sonia Guajajara, and demarcated eight new Indigenous
territories.<br><br>
Indigenous territories cover nearly 14% of Brazil’s vast expanse,
according to data from the Instituto Socioambiental. The process to
officially establish an Indigenous territory can take decades.<br><br>
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