Two Amazonian indigenous guards murdered and there are now six killed in recent years

Janildo Oliveira Guajajara, Guardian of the Amazon, was shot dead on September 3 in a town near the Arariboia Indigenous Land, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. According to reports, he was the victim of an ambush while walking down the street. With his death, there are now six Guajajara Guardians killed in recent years.

Members of the Guajajara People (Tenetehar) created the group of guardians to protect the territory of Arariboia (its forest is being heavily invaded by illegal loggers) and the uncontacted indigenous people of the Awá People, with whom they share the land. Before the guardians began their work a decade ago, there were 72 entry points for illegal logging in the territory: now there are only five.

Survival International has supported the Guajajara Guardians for many years as part of a campaign for the survival of the uncontacted Awá Indians. These tribal guardians and Survival, along with more allies, are calling for Janildo's murder to be fully investigated.

"Another guardian murdered. It is the sixth guardian who has been murdered and none of the other murderers of the guardians of the jungle has been punished, nor is he behind bars. That is why we scream and appeal to the Brazilian justice system so that justice is done and power put these murderers in jail," said Olimpio Guajajara, one of the guards.

In a statement released as a result of Janildo's murder, the Guajajara Guardians declare: "Guardian Janildo Oliveira Guajajara had already worked with us since 2018 and worked in the Barreiro region, in the Arariboia Indigenous Land, in a community near a road opened by loggers and closed by the guards. Since then, he and other guardians in the region have suffered constant threats, and they are getting more and more intense.

People around the world must vigorously mobilize to stop the genocide in Brazil and stop the global forces promoting it.

During all these years we have done, and will continue to do, territorial protection, even if they threaten us and kill us. We are against the violence that kills and destroys, that is why we fight for life. Our people cry out for justice and we demand an adequate investigation for this and other murders against the Tenetehar People, and we want a response from justice for this other barbaric crime."

For Sarah Shenker, a researcher and activist for Survival International, who has been accompanying the work of the Guajajaras Guardians for years: "The wave of genocidal violence unleashed against indigenous peoples by President Bolsonaro does not stop. There is a climate of total impunity, in the that the powerful forces that steal indigenous land, gold miners, loggers, 'grileiros' and others, think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. The current Brazilian government actively encourages them, and across the country indigenous people are resisting .

“Janildo knew that they could kill him, but he was determined to be a guardian, since he saw no other way for the future of his family and his jungle. Justice must be done for him, for Paulo Paulino Guajajara and for all the other indigenous people who have died in the fight for his land. And people around the world must mobilize vigorously to stop the genocide in Brazil and stop the global forces promoting it: for the survival of uncontacted tribal peoples and all tribal peoples, as well as the lands they have cared for for generations."