Dear Jack,

Following on from Uncontacted Tribes Week, we’ve had some fantastic news from Brazil that we wanted to share – it’s the actions of people like you that have made this possible.

An Indigenous territory whose name, Ituna Itatá, means “Smell of Fire,” has just been officially protected for three years, after the authorities bowed to pressure to renew its Land Protection Order.

These Orders shield uncontacted tribes’ territories that have not yet completed the long process of formal recognition.

However, President Bolsonaro’s government is doing all it can either to stop these Orders being renewed, or to renew them for just 6 months at a time.

Why? Because they’re in the crosshairs of his agribusiness allies, who are encouraging the invasion of the rainforest for beef production, mining, logging and land-grabbing.

And Ituna Itatá is one of the most threatened and vulnerable of these territories. In fact, a plot was uncovered earlier this year to open up the territory and suppress evidence of the very existence of the uncontacted tribe living there.

So the news that the Ituna Itatá Land Protection Order has just been renewed for three years, in spite of the powerful forces hell bent on opening it up, is hugely encouraging.

It wouldn’t have happened without the constant lobbying of our Indigenous and non-Indigenous friends and allies in Brazil, and of people like you.

Of course, the people living in Ituna Itatá will never know of the thousands of emails that Survival supporters have sent to the Brazilian authorities.

And the fight is far from over – there are many invaders still inside this territory, and the other uncontacted tribes’ territories, and this success comes against the backdrop of a relentless, unprecedented, assault on Indigenous peoples’ rights in Brazil.

But this is a really significant victory, which will make a huge difference in the fight, so from all of us at Survival – thank you!

Best wishes,

Jade Bridgwood
Supporter services