In Pictures

Photos: Indigenous march in Brazil to demand land protection

Indigenous people gathered in Brasilia for a 10-day protest camp demanding better protection for their land and rights.

Indigenous people protest on the third day of the Terra Livre Indigenous Camp in Brasilia — The 10-day annual protest is held by Indigenous people from tribes that arrive from all over Brazil, and calls for greater protection of their land and rights. [Carl De Souza/AFP]

Thousands of Indigenous people have marched in Brazil’s capital to press Congress not to pass legislation proposed by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s government that would open their protected lands to commercial mining and agriculture.

According to the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), some 6,000 people from 176 different groups marched on Wednesday towards the National Congress in Brasilia as part of a 10-day annual protest demanding the protection of Indigenous land and rights.

Chanting and holding signs criticising Bolsonaro, participants called for more Indigenous representation in the parliament, where there are currently no Indigenous elected officials.

Indigenous leaders and their supporters say the government has failed to control illegal mining and deforestation on Indigenous reserves.

They claim that the lack of control increases deforestation in the vast rainforest, leading to increased violent clashes between land invaders and local tribal groups.

Bolsonaro has said Indigenous people have too much land, holding up the development of the country, and pledged not to recognise an inch more of reservation lands. Environmentalists say the reservations save the rainforest from destruction.

The sun illuminates an Indigenous man as it sets and he looks on during a protest — Indigenous leaders and their supporters say the government has failed to control illegal mining and deforestation on Indigenous reserves. [Adriano Machado/Reuters]

Indigenous demonstrate on the third day of the Terra Livre Indigenous Camp — Indigenous leaders claim that the lack of control increases deforestation in the vast rainforest, leading to increased violent clashes between land invaders and local tribal groups. [Carl De Souza/AFP]

Indigenous people march during a protest against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro — Indigenous people march during the protest in Brasilia. [Adriano Machado/Reuters]

Indigenous people march in front of a banner that reads "the future is indigenous" — Indigenous people march in front of a banner that reads, 'The future is Indigenous'. [Lucas Landau/Reuters]

A Xukuru Indigenous man performs during the March — Elections for president, senators and state governors and deputies are scheduled for later this year, when Indigenous activists hope to make political inroads in a system that has largely left them with little influence over federal land policies. [Eraldo Peres/AP Photo]

Indigenous people march during a protest against Brazil's President — The march was part of the 18th annual Free Land Indigenous Camp that is back on the streets after two years of virtual meetings due to the pandemic. [Lucas Landau/Reuters]

An Indigenous woman looks on during a protest against Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro — According to APIB, 13 percent of Brazil's territory is protected Indigenous reservation land, with 98 percent of that in the Amazon region. But 400 Indigenous communities are still struggling to get their ancestral lands recognised. [Adriano Machado/Reuters]