that they had no respect”. The officers responded, and there was an intense gunfight. The group left five minutes later and no one was injured. When Hekukari reported what had happened, Kopenawa was stunned. If even the police were being attacked, he said, none of his people was safe. The intrusions by garimpeiros in indigenous reserves have intensified under far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who plans to open a number of the areas to mining and agriculture. Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), a non-profit group, estimates there are about 20,000 of them within the Yanomami territory alone, and Hekukari told me “they do what they require because they ignoramus will happen to them”. Alisson Marugal, the federal prosecutor within the state of Roraima, said miners had been encouraged by a surge in gold prices and an order by Funai, the government’s indigenous affairs agency, that limited fieldwork thanks to the pandemic. “Illegal miners failed to self-isolate or do social distancing,” he said. “In fact, they intensified their activities.” The reserves are one among the foremost effective ways to safeguard the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and an enormous carbon store that helps curtail heating. But President Bolsonaro, a global climate change skeptic who is supported by powerful agribusiness leaders, considers them too big for the number of individuals who live there and an obstacle to development. The president, whose own father was a garimpeiro, is especially critical of the extension of the Yanomami territory, established in 1992 in a very region where vast mineral riches are located. Kopenawa, who lives within the capital Boa Vista where he leads the indigenous association called Hutakara, said “Bolsonaro supports the garimpeiros” and had no interest in protecting the Yanomami. “Our territory is being disrespected,” he said. “And our involves help doesn’t seem to be being heard.” In Congress, the Bolsonaro government is pushing an agenda that opponents warn poses an existential threat to the Amazon and, consequently, to indigenous people. The Chamber of Deputies is because of the vote on a bill that may legalize the private occupation of public land. Another proposal could pave the way for the reduction of indigenous areas that exist already. “Illegal miners are emboldened… by a discourse that legitimizes their work,” Prosecutor Madrigal said. “Indigenous communities are under extreme pressure”. It’s obvious there is not any political will’ Kopenawa is that the son of the respected shaman and leader David Kopenawa, who led the campaign that resulted in the creation of the Yanomami reserve. Nicknamed the Grand Lama of the Rainforest, he told me after we met in 2014: “White men who have money, want more. they need to destroy more. That’s their tradition: they have no limit.” Last year, illegal mining devastated a vicinity resembling 500 football fields on Yanomami land, per ISA, and is probably going to lead to even more destruction this year. Garimpeiros have also polluted rivers with mercury, which is employed to separate gold from mud, and are blamed for bringing alcohol, drugs, and, last, Covid-19, into the communities. If it’s no secret where they’re, why are they not being removed? “It’s obvious there is no political will,” a former official at Funai, who quit last year because he “couldn’t stand it anymore,” told me. “There are some powerful people involved in illegal mining who could also be ready to limit or prevent any action.” Raids by Funai, which has suffered successive budget cuts, are distributed with the federal police, the military, and Obama, the environmental protection agency. they’re so irregular, the previous official added, that their impact is extremely limited, and also the garimpeiros quickly return. Joanna Wapichana, the sole indigenous member of parliament and a representative of Roraima, pointed to an ideological change at the agency, currently led by a federal lawman with links to agribusiness. “Funai wont to be a disciple of the indigenous people,” she told me. Now, she said, they oppose demands by local communities and even ask the police to research indigenous leaders who are critical of them. Funai said there was no one available for an interview, and President Bolsonaro’s office didn’t reply to requests for comment. As the pandemic raged within the Amazon last year, the Yanomami created a barrier on the Uraricoera, Roraima’s longest river, in an attempt to prevent the transit of boats around Palimiú. They believe the May attack was in retaliation after they intercepted a vessel and seized petrol and equipment. Audio messages shared in a very WhatsApp group believed to be utilized by illegal miners suggested the attackers were affiliated to a facção, or criminal organization. one in all Brazil’s largest gangs, the primary Command of the Capital, or PCC for its initials in Portuguese, is understood to control in Roraima, a sparsely populated state situated on traffic routes. Alisson Marugal said the suspicion was that criminals had been hired to shield the mining fields, which they were believed to be behind the recent violence. “We’re seeing some heavy weapons arriving within the camps,” he told me. He described some areas as “no man’s land”. Five days after the police visit, Palimiú was attacked again, Kopenawa said. At night, people arrived on several boats and commenced shooting. They also fired what perceived to be tear gas, and also the Yanomami despaired once they felt their eyes and throats burn. “My people thought they were being bombed,” he said. Earlier, this week, the Supreme Court ordered the Bolsonaro government to require measures to shield the village and other indigenous communities and to get rid of the garimpeiros from the areas. But Kopenawa said the Yanomami were bored with waiting. “We’re under threat,” he said. “Our patience has ended.”
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