Tears of joy as the Supreme Court verdict is announced ©Tukumã Pataxó/Apib

Dear Jack,

“Sing the song of life and dance the dance of joy.”

We've been hoping to write this email to you for years, and finally, we can! 

The Indigenous peoples of Brazil and their allies around the world are today celebrating a historic victory after many years of struggle: the genocidal and catastrophic Time Limit Trick was decisively rejected yesterday by the country’s Supreme Court!

The Time Limit Trick was an attempt to steal vast areas of Indigenous lands by claiming that Indigenous peoples who didn’t occupy their ancestral lands on October 5, 1988, the day the Brazilian Constitution was signed, would no longer have the right to them. It was heavily pushed by the country’s powerful agribusiness industry.

Hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people faced the prospect of being dispossessed of their lands, and dozens of uncontacted tribes could have been wiped out. 

Thousands have protested across Brazil, and around the world, against the Time Limit Trick – and also against a draft bill, Bill PL2903, which is known as the 'bill of death.’ It contains an array of anti-Indigenous measures, including the Time Limit Trick proposal. 

You, our supporters, have already played a vital role in making possible the campaigning against the Time Limit Trick that we carried out alongside Indigenous peoples. Thank you. 

Now you can keep up the momentum by emailing Brazilian Senators about the 'bill of death.' More than 30,000 have already sent an email - if you have not, please do so and forward it to your friends. The defeat of the Time Limit Trick shows what we can achieve together. 

We wanted to leave you with some emotional words of relief sent to Survival from the Guarani organization Aty Guasu after the Court’s ruling: “We’re crying with joy. Today we’re going to sing the song of life and dance the dance of joy. The Supreme Court has shown that it cares about our lives and that it’s against genocide."

Today, we invite you to celebrate as well!

With many thanks for your support,

Simonas Bartulis
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