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Authorities in Brazil have complied with judicial decisions from the Federal Court and the Federal Supreme Court to expel illegal settlers in Indigenous land in an effort to return them to the original peoples, as determined by Article 231 of the Federal Constitution.

Non-Indigenous people occupying part of the lands of Apyterewa (approved in 2007) and Trincheira Bacajá (approved in 1996) in Pará were removed as part of the operation initiated by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) which will continue to produce intelligence to coordinate and enable the Brazilian State to return ownership to the Indigenous tribes.

ABIN is also responsible for analyzing likely action scenarios and monitoring events that may impact the operation, so dialogue, peace, and non-confrontation are prioritized. In addition, intelligence work intends to preserve sustainability, integrity, culture, and the environment.

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Prioritizing Indigenous values

On the aforementioned lands, approximately 2,500 indigenous people from the Parakanã, Mebengôkre Kayapó, and Xikrim ethnicities live and are distributed in 51 villages, while there are records of isolated indigenous people and recent contact in the territory.

The presence of strangers in indigenous territory threatens the integrity of indigenous people and causes other damages such as the destruction of forests. It is no coincidence that the Apyterewa IT is at the top of the deforestation list.

In its statement, the agency said: “The presence of strangers on Indigenous land threatens the integrity of the Indigenous [people] and causes other damages, such as the destruction of forests,” adding that about 1,600 families lived illegally in that region and conducted illegal actions like cattle raising and gold mining. “They also destroy native vegetation.”

The operation also included the participation of the General Secretariat, Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, Funai, Força Nacional and ABIN, Incra, Ibama, Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), Northern Military Command, the Ministry of Labor and Employment and Secom.

Around 10 days ago, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for Indigenous communities, thwarting attempts to significantly erode their land rights, which activists hailed as a historic triumph for the country's original inhabitants.

Nine out of the Supreme Court's 11 justices voted against what advocacy groups had dubbed the "time limit trick," a move backed by agribusiness interests to prevent Indigenous communities from claiming land they did not "physically inhabit in 1988."

In front of the Supreme Court's main office in Brasilia, a surge of powerful emotions was witnessed on Thursday, as most of the justices delivered a verdict in favor of Indigenous rights.