Supporting Yanomami Advocacy
Training a new generation of Yanomami leaders so they can protect and manage their lands and forest.
Location: Roraima, Northern Brazil
Partner: Hutukara Yanomami Association
Project description
Background:The Yanomami people of Brazil (and across the border in Venezuela) remain relatively isolated, living in communities deep in the forest of the Northern Amazon. In 1992, the Brazilian government recognized their lands and set them aside in a 37,000 square-mile territory. Despite their remoteness and the success they enjoyed in having their lands recognized, the Yanomami continue to face pressure from ranchers, gold miners, and others. The three main issues facing the Yanomami today are the presence of ranchers; invasions by gold miners; and ensuring quality healthcare.
In order to address these challenges, the Yanomami created their own association, called Hutukara, in 2004. Soon thereafter, the Rainforest Foundation began supporting an innovative training program designed to prepare a group of young Yanomami leaders to be effective advocates and to carry the organization forward. This project provides administrative and leadership training, as well as support for advocacy efforts on the ground.
Activities:
•Advocacy work around mining, ranchers, and healthcare, on the local and national levels
•Documentation and dissemination of information regarding threats to Yanomami lands
•Hands-on management training for the group of young Yanomami leaders
Did you know?
•The Yanomami Area covers over 37,000 square miles of virtually intact rainforest, and is home to some 12,800 people (the Yanomami across the border in Venezuela number about the same).
•In the 1980s, up to 40,000 gold miners invaded the Yanomami Area. Most were subsequently removed, but wildcat mining remains a problem.
•Davi Kopenawa, the President and founder of Hutukara, was granted the United Nation’s prestigious Global 500 Award in 1989, and has recently been called “the Dalai Lama of the Forest”.
Take Action
Healthcare programs for indigenous peoples in Brazil are overseen by a federal agency, called FUNASA, under the Ministry of Health. FUNASA has been wracked with a series of scandals over the years, including allegations of misappropriation of funds and corruption. Medical supplies aren’t getting to a number of communities, and healthcare is inadequate.
In Northern Brazil, the Yanomami have denounced an alarming increase in malaria cases, exacerbated by illegal gold mining. Currently, medical assistance is not getting to the communities because of bureaucratic hurdles around the approval of airstrips in the Yanomami Area – something that has never been a problem either there or elsewhere. Indeed, many of the scandals involving FUNASA have taken place within the Yanomami health program. In the Javari Valley, a vast indigenous area in the western Amazon, hepatitis and malaria epidemics are ravaging the Kanamari, Matis, Marubo Tsohom-dyapa, and Korubo, as well as isolated groups that live in the region.
On August 3rd, the Brazilian Senate is set to vote on a law that would create a secretariat that would be specifically in charge of indigenous healthcare. This has been a key demand of the Yanomami and of the indigenous movement in Brazil for years, and is seen as a positive step in guaranteeing adequate healthcare for these communities. A draft law was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on July 7, and expires on August 4th if the Senate does not approve it.
We’re therefore joining our partners at the Hutukara Yanomami Association and the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA) in calling for the creation of the Indigenous Health Secretariat. We hope that through a new, independent government office, indigenous healthcare will receive the attention it deserves.