Funai, the department established in 1967 to protect the rights of Brazil’s Indigenous people, has been effectively broken up, with one of its biggest responsibilities — to identify and draw boundaries of Indigenous land across the country — handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture. The rest of Funai will be transferred to the Ministry of Human Rights, which is led by evangelical pastor Damares Alves. Critics of the change have described it as a “catastrophe” for Brazil’s 900,000 Indigenous people, who could face total annihilation. Read more…
International year of indigenous languages
It is through language that we communicate with the world, define our identity, express our history and culture, learn, defend our human rights and participate in all aspects of society, to name but a few. Through language, people preserve their community’s history, customs and traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct their future.
Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance, peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development.