Training Yanomami Leaders

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”.

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Update

Big step forward for indigenous health in Brazil

With your help, indigenous peoples in Brazil were able to secure a substantial victory on August 3rd. After two years of organizing by the indigenous movement in Brazil, and a last-minute push supported by their allies (including Rainforest Foundation US via change.org), the Brazilian Senate voted unanimously yesterday to create a special Secretariat for Indigenous Health. President Luis Inácio da Silva must ratify the bill within 30 days for it to become law, but it is expected he will do so quickly.

With this new law,indigenous healthcare in Brazil will be overseen by a secretariat directly under the Ministry of Health. This was a major demand of indigenous peoples, and it is anticipated that the new structure will help avoid the pitfalls and corruption scandals that plagued its predecessor, FUNASA. As Marcos Apurinã, president of the pan-Amazonian federation of indigenous peoples COIAB stated: "I believe the new secretariat will take the sadness off our faces, and replace it with smiles - but we hope the new secretariat won’t be another FUNASA. It has to be managed properly, from prevention to treatment. They have to choose people with heart, with sensitivity”. There will be plenty of work ahead, but in the meantime, the 100 indigenous leaders who had gathered in Brasilia for the last-minute push celebrated.

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