Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

The Indigenous Missionary Council, linked to the Brazilian bishops' conference, has highlighted the "continuous omission by public authorities in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples, especially in relation to land rights."

In a report, "Violence Against Indigenous People in Brazil," the council, known by its Portuguese acronym as CIMI, said 137 indigenous were killed in 2015, only one fewer than registered the previous year.

"The same criminal practices are repeated and intensify without measures being adopted," said Archbishop Roque Paloschi of Porto Velho, CIMI president, who presented the survey in mid-September. "Until when will we have to present these reports?"

The report said the number of deaths may even be higher since the government's special indigenous department has already acknowledged that its survey results are likely to be lagging.

The Brazilian states where most of the indigenous deaths occurred are also the locations with the largest indigenous populations in the country: Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, Acre, Amazonas, Bahia and Parana.

Since 2003, nearly 900 indigenous have been killed in a violent manner in Brazil, the report said. It cited an increase in the number of vicious militia attacks against Guarani and Kaiowa communities in Mato Grosso do Sul.

For CIMI, agribusiness projects on indigenous territories in states such as Tocantins and Parana have influenced the number of indigenous deaths. The expansion of these projects into the traditional communities "encourage consumerism, alcohol, drugs and other factors that generate violence" says the report.

The council also criticized the delay in the demarcation of indigenous territory. It said the Brazilian Constitution called for all indigenous traditional lands to be demarcated by 1993. However, a recent survey conducted by CIMI showed that by Aug. 31 of this year, more than 650 indigenous territories–more than 58 percent of indigenous lands nationwide–were still waiting to have their demarcation processes finalized.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

His clinical condition is “complex,” the Vatican said.
Gerard O’ConnellFebruary 17, 2025
The pope also extended his greetings to the thousands of artists who had come to celebrate their Jubilee in Rome this weekend.
Gerard O’ConnellFebruary 16, 2025
Votive candles, including some bearing a photo of Pope Francis, are seen on the base of a statue of St. John Paul II outside Rome's Gemelli hospital Feb. 15, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)
To facilitate his recovery, doctors have prescribed that he observe “total rest,” the Vatican press office announced.
Gerard O’ConnellFebruary 15, 2025
Pope Francis greets Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian member of the U.S.-based Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, at the Vatican Dec. 3, 2015 (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters).
The announcement came as Francis was in his bed in the Gemelli Hospital being treated for an infection of the respiratory tract. A Vatican spokesman said "the Holy Father passed a good night and slept well.”
Gerard O’ConnellFebruary 15, 2025