Dear Jack,

Eight years ago we were jubilant. After a long and intensive campaign by Survival supporters, Brazil’s Ministry of Justice took another official step towards the legal protection (or “demarcation”) of the uncontacted Kawahiva tribe’s territory.

Even better, some two years later, illegal loggers and ranchers were removed from the area.

But since then, the Kawahiva’s enemies have fought back. Powerful interests – anti-Indigenous politicians and big agribusiness corporations – are determined to fight the demarcation all the way. The process has ground to a halt agonizingly close to the finish line.

This delay is not only illegal and unconstitutional, it’s also extremely dangerous. We know that those Kawahiva still alive today are the survivors of massacres that have killed off their families and relatives in recent decades.

And the danger hasn’t gone away – the Kawahiva’s forest is now surrounded by intense destruction as the rainforest is razed for beef production and logging, and the nearest town, Colniza, is one of the most violent places in Brazil.

Unless this territory is fully, legally, protected soon, the genocide of the Kawahiva, whether in further massacres or through outsiders starting a fatal epidemic, could be complete.

If you've taken action for the Kawahiva already, please forward this email to your friends and family or share on social media via the buttons below.

For the Kawahiva,

Caroline Pearce
Director