Photo Essay: Inside the Munduruku Occupation of São Manoel Dam

English

Wed, 07/19/2017 - 12:16pm

At dawn on Sunday, July 16th, 200 representatives of the indigenous Munduruku nation occupied the main work camp of the São Manoel hydroelectric dam on the Teles Pires River in the Brazilian Amazon, paralyzing the project.

A Munduruku warrior and child.

Photo courtesy of Caio Mota/Centro Popular do Audiovisual/Forum Teles Pires

Led by Munduruku women warriors, the occupiers presented a series of demands to dam developers and Brazilian government authorities, including the right to consultation, land titling, and respect for their cultural and spiritual sites.

Munduruku women warriors dance at the Sao Manoel Dam site.

Photo courtesy of Caio Mota/Centro Popular do Audiovisual/Forum Teles Pires

They also demanded that developers repair the grave environmental destruction inflicted by dams on the Teles Pires.

Warriors gather at night at the dam site.

Photo courtesy of Caio Mota/Centro Popular do Audiovisual/Forum Teles Pires

In an open letter, the Munduruku state: "Our sacred places [such as the Sete Quedas waterfall and burial grounds] were violated and destroyed. Our ancestors are crying... The Teles Pires and Tapajós Rivers are dying. Our rights, guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, which came to exist after much indigenous blood was spilled, are being violated."

A warrior looks on.

Photo by Caio Mota/Centro Popular do Audiovisual/Forum Teles Pires

Together with the destruction of the Sete Quedas waterfalls – a site considered to be the center of cosmology for the region's three indigenous peoples – dams on the Teles Pires River also led to the removal of funerary urns and archeological artefacts on Munduruku burial grounds. Long a major concern of Munduruku leadership, the return of these items is among the principal demands of the occupation.

A Munduruku warrior and child.

Photo courtesy of Caio Mota/Centro Popular do Audiovisual/Forum Teles Pires

The occupation of the São Manoel dam was conceived by Munduruku women who identified the need to take bold action to stop the ongoing destruction of indigenous rights and territories in the Tapajós River basin.

"After we heard the Munduruku women, it was decided that we would gather peacefully at the São Manoel work camp, motivated by our pain," says the Munduruku statement. "We are not here to invade. The only invader is the government and the companies responsible for the dams being built on the Teles Pires.... We know that our struggle is legitimate... We ask that our demands be met and will not leave here until they are."

See the full slideshow below.