Brazilian Indigenous organization wins prestigious Spanish award
February 15, 2012
This page was created in 2012 and may contain language which is now outdated.
Brazilian organization CIR- Indigenous Council of Roraima (Conselho Indígena de Roraima)- has won the Spanish government’s Bartolomé de las Casas award.
The €50,000 prize is awarded to organizations or individuals who show excellence in their work for the protection of Indigenous people’s rights and values.
The jury chose CIR as this year’s winner in recognition of the work it has done for the Indigenous peoples of Roraima state, in northern Brazil, for over 40 years.
They highlighted CIR’s work in the areas of health and education as being particularly important for the tribes with which the organization works.
CIR said, ‘CIR and the Indigenous peoples of Roraima are honoured by this important recognition by the Spanish government and by many other people and institutions. This motivates us to continue fighting with even more effort for the rights of our peoples in Roraima, in Brazil, and around the world.’
One of CIR’s greatest successes was its campaign for the demarcation of the Raposa-Serra do Sol territory, which is now home to around 20,000 Indians of various tribes.
CIR continues to strengthen its fight for Indigenous rights, particularly regarding the possible construction of a dam in Raposa Serra do Sol, and illegal gold mining in the Yanomami territory.
Its work is crucial in standing up to the political and economic interests and the racism which threaten Roraima’s Indigenous population.
Previous prize winners include the Peruvian Indigenous organization, FENAMAD. Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami shaman and spokesman who is pushing for the Yanomami territory to be protected from goldminers’ invasions and other threats, received an honorary mention in 2009.
