Brazilian Indians holding a mass rally this week in the Amazon town of Altamira say they have not been consulted about a series of huge dams that the Brazilian government wants to build on the Xingu River.
Around a thousand Indians from the Kayapó, Ikpeng and other tribes, along with riverbank dwellers and small farmers, have gathered in Altamira to oppose the hydroelectric dam project. ‘We’re here to tell the government we’re against the dam’, said one Kayapó Indian.
The leader of COIAB, the umbrella organisation for indigenous peoples of the Brazilian Amazon, Jecinaldo Sataré Mawé, said, ‘What Indians do not accept is that these projects are imposed upon them.’
The Xingu River is one of the main tributaries of the Amazon. The Indians say that damming it will destroy their way of life, ruin their health and kill the fish and animals they eat.
‘Nobody has consulted us about dams’ say Indians
May 22, 2008
Related news articles
- “The doors are now open”: indigenous people denounce missionaries targeting uncontacted tribes - Tue March 10, 2020
- #StopBrazilsGenocide: Indigenous Brazilians protest new mining plan - Thu February 13, 2020
- Amazon leaders call on Boris Johnson to “stand with us” in face of attacks - Thu January 30, 2020
- “A genocidal plan for the destruction of Brazil’s indigenous peoples”: Survival responds to Bolsonaro’s proposed new FUNAI chief - Fri January 31, 2020
Most recent
- Major victory for Peru’s indigenous peoples: new uncontacted reserve created - Fri July 23, 2021
- First international counter-conference on conservation will denounce “world’s biggest land grab” - Thu July 01, 2021
- UN experts slam Modi’s government for incarceration of indigenous rights defender - Wed June 16, 2021
- Crisis in Yanomami territory as goldminers launch series of attacks - Tue June 15, 2021