Government delivers Indigenous Land titles in Pará

The federal government carried out today (28) the symbolic delivery of the title of the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Land, in the municipalities of Nova Esperança do Piriá, Santa Luzia and Paragominas, in the northeast of Pará. The delivery ceremony for the indigenous leaders was held in the host village, in the northern part of the territory. Homologated in 1993, the indigenous land of 282,000 hectares had part of the territory illegally occupied by non-indigenous people. The delivery of the title takes place after the end of the removal, which began in March, after the decision of the Federal Court. On the Upper Rio Guamá, 2,500 indigenous people of the Tembé, Timbira and Kaapor ethnic groups live in 42 villages near the Guamá River, north of the Gurupi River, on the border with Maranhão. Although the Justice determined the immediate removal of the illegal occupants of the land, the government negotiated a 30-day deadline for the 1,600 non-indigenous families to voluntarily leave the land without the need for the use of police force. “After 30 years, we will finally have the return of possession of the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Land, in Pará. A crucial step towards guaranteeing the rights of the Tembé, Timbira and Kaapor peoples. An integrated action by the federal government, the result of the Lula Government’s commitment to indigenous peoples”, wrote the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, in a social network. Disintrusion The judicial process for disintrusion began in 2002, when the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) filed a lawsuit for repossession of the irregularly occupied indigenous land. The Federal Court granted an injunction favorable to the action, confirmed in a sentence handed down in 2014. “The judicial battle is part of a long history of conflicts over land ownership that resulted in deaths and deforestation in the central area of ​​150,000 hectares. The most recent part of this history, marked by violence, prejudice and a lot of resentment, began in 1945, with the recognition of the indigenous land”, informed the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. According to the ministry, the first phase of disintrusion began between May and June of this year, when the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) registered the families for referral to relevant social programs. Local city halls and federal agencies helped to transport their belongings to assigned locations and also provided basic food baskets. After the deadline for voluntary departure, court officials from the Judiciary Subsection of Paragominas went around the earth to notify any remaining occupants and certified the departure of all illegal occupants. Last Friday (23) justice officials from the Judiciary Subsection of Paragominas delivered to representatives of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai) and the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, the order of repossession of the Alto Rio Indigenous Land Guamá (TIARG), concluding the second phase of the operation. The document attests to the fulfillment of a court order that restores to the peoples of the Tembé, Timbira and Kaapor ethnic groups the full right of possession of the indigenous land. The ministry informed that, in the third phase, to be carried out throughout the month of July, accesses and irregular installations in the indigenous land will be made unusable. The measure aims to prevent intruders from reoccupying the site. Funai, Incra, the Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System (Censipam), the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), the Federal Police (PF), the Federal Highway Police (PRF), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), National Force and Brazilian Army.

Agência Brasil