In the Amazon, the struggle of "forest warriors" for the Javari Valley

June 9, 2023

In the indigenous territory of the Javari Valley, illegal fishermen, poachers, loggers and narcos continue looting and trafficking of all kinds in these Amazonian borders of northwestern Brazil.

A year after the double murder on the spot of the defender of the indigenous cause Bruno Pereira and the British journalist Dom Phillips, something is however moving on the side of the indigenous people, in the face of these continuing invasions: a new generation of activists , “heirs” of Bruno Pereira, took over to defend the reserve.

In the community of Sao Luis, on the banks of the Javari River, bordering Peru, there are about thirty of them aboard a motorized canoe, spears, bows and arrows in hand, khaki T-shirt with the logo “forest warriors” on the back.

They are all Kanamari, one of the seven ethnic groups of Javari, the second largest indigenous territory in Brazil. It is in this impenetrable jungle the size of Portugal that there is the largest concentration of uncontacted natives.

In Brazil, the demarcation of these reserves – where foreigners can theoretically enter only with the agreement of local and federal authorities – guarantees indigenous people the right to occupy their ancestral lands and the exclusive use of resources.

The Kanamari territory is located at the northern limit of Javari. On the banks of the eponymous river, in a network of lagoons and vast ponds, this ethnic group is at the forefront of intrusions.

In particular, raids by clandestine fishermen in search of the emblematic pirarucu, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, whose creamy flesh delights gourmets, and which sells for very good prices under the coat.

“We patrol with our traditional weapons”, explains Lucinho Kanamari, leader of these volunteers. “When we spot intruders, one of us will talk to them. The others stay cautiously behind, ready to react if things go wrong.”

They are fishermen, suspected of being linked to drug traffickers, who are on trial for having murdered “Bruno and Dom” on June 5, 2022, as they have been known since then here.

The crime had for a moment brought international attention to this remote corner of the planet, the Far West where part of the future of the great Amazonian forest is at stake.

“We don’t want violence. We’re here to educate. We talk, we try to explain to them…”, explains Lucinho. The intruders “try to bribe us with gasoline, rice, sugar…”.

Two surveillance posts, wooden houses planted on the waves, in the middle of mosquitoes, have been installed at strategic mazes of the river. One has already been shot.

The danger also comes from the narcos, who grow the coca on the Peruvian side and ship the drugs downstream to the river junction on the borders of Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

In early April, loggers caught in the act threatened the cacique (chief) of a nearby Kanamari community with death, forcing him to seek refuge in town.

Faced with this criminality, the federal state remains very little present, judge the natives. The National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), in charge of the management of these territories, is barely recovering from a virtual abandonment under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), an outspoken supporter of the exploitation of the Amazonia.

“The state having abandoned us, we had to take our responsibilities. We created vigilance groups in the communities. The idea is to protect our land and live from our resources. We defend what belongs to us, our lakes and our forests”, explains Varney Todah da Silva Kanamari, vice-president of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja).

In the heart of the immense forest, the task is immense and the means are lacking. The Sao Luis volunteers only have two motorboats, which very often lack gasoline.

However, “the warriors have results, their method works”, notes Bushe Matis, the general coordinator of Univaja, interviewed by AFP at the headquarters of his organization, in the city of Atalaia do Norte, door of entrance to the reserve.

“If we wait for the state to act, it will take too long,” he said, explaining that the work of the Kanamari is supported by the “Vigilance Team” of the Univaja (EVU), sort of commando which intervenes “when the situation is more tense”.

Bruno Pereira had “set up the Team” on his arrival at Univaja, after his resignation from Funai. “We are his heirs”, boasts Bushe Matis.

Thirty-something with the look of a playboy, son of the famous Brazilian indigenist Sydney Possuelo, Orlando de Moraes Possuelo is one of the leaders of EVU.

“Faced with the invasions which unfortunately have continued since the death of Bruno (…), the objective is to occupy the land”, he explains, in particular in two areas where there is an abundance of fish, the Middle Javari and the Itaquai River.

Over-motorized barges, GPS, drones, telephones and satellite internet… the EVU, now supported by generous donors, uses new technologies. Its 27 members and three leaders come from all Javari communities.

The missions are confidential and the members of the group work under anonymity. Several have been threatened. “I am threatened with death. I am afraid of course, but there are no other options”, confides Cristobal Negredo Espisango, alias Tatako.

And to underline: “today, EVU is the only organization that really fights organized crime in the Javari Valley”.

A stone’s throw from the Univaja headquarters, the EVU has its headquarters in an anonymous white house, protected by an iron gate and a surveillance camera.

Buffer zone between two worlds, Atalaia do Norte, as well as the neighboring localities of Benjamin Constant and Tabatinga, are reputed to be the base of traffickers. They are also home to fishing communities that are often hostile to the natives.

Bushe Matis hopes that with the return to power of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, favorable to the indigenous cause, “the federal police and the Funai will finally really help us”.

“We control, we collect information and evidence. And we pass it on to the competent authorities. Then let the state do its job!”, He says, warning of a new “tragedy”. Because “the invaders will never retreat, they will always want to seize Javari”.