This 3-4 days project was initiated for the purpose of transporting 70 Xakriabá indigenous elders and youngsters from deep in the Xingu River basin to the Brazilian capital city to protest the direct threats imposed upon their lives. Sinchi paid for part of the buses to get these Xakriabá to the Free Land Camp and for young indigenous photographer Edgar Correa Kanayko from the same community to document this historical gathering taking place between 24 and 27 april 2019.
Indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon have been exposed to invasion of their lands to make way for large scale depletion of their land for many centuries, but authorities still haven’t learnt anything from past events. With the inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro in january 2019, the government is literally giving away big concessions in the Brazilian Amazon and indigenous reserves and/or (threatening to) killing those who resist leaving their centuries old habitats behind. 3,000 indigenous are demanding their basic human rights to maintain these grounds and respect for their people and cultures.
During Free Land Camp, photographer and member of the Xakriabá tribe Edgar kept us updated about the events there, you can view his photo journal at the bottom of this page. One of the biggest challenges for him and his people has been to gather 70 indigenous elders and youngsters from deep in the Amazon basin to the camp in Brasilia, which demanded a lot of logistics and sufficient funds for transport. With the help of NGO’s such as ourselves, they have been able to arrange for buses, as have the other 304 communities.
Please keep an eye out on our news pages for future updates on our support for indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazone.
