Indigenist Missionary Council / Mato Grosso do Sul Regional Office – CIMI-MS

CIMI-MS supports the political and legal confrontation of Kaiowá, Guarani and Terena indigenous peoples in the fight to recover their territories. The organization promotes training of leaders and indigenous communities on strategic knowledge of their human, indigenous and territorial rights (DHIT), as well as offers legal assistance in cases involving the struggle for land and in cases of human rights violations.

The Council also supports indigenous mobilizations as the ‘Aty Guasu‘ (Great Meeting) of the Kaiowá and Guarani and the Terena people’s seminars, as well as the Continental Council of the Guarani People and their continental meetings with representatives from Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil.

It also promotes campaigns, collective lobbying and international and national reporting in favor of safeguarding the DHIT, as well as publishes research, articles and reports on the indigenous’ situation.
CIMI-MS is liaised with the Forum for the Defense of Indigenous Rights , the Network of knowledge  (project that works with indigenous scholars), the Observatory of Indigenous Rights  – Odin, the Peasants’ Way  and the Guarani People International Campaign – Great People.

Context

The 25 indigenous settlements in Mato Grosso do Sul – 24 of Kaiowá and Guarani people and 1 of Terena people – are the result of the historical negligence of the State in ensuring those peoples’ rights. The Kaiowá Guarani people are among the most threatened in the Americas. The situation of violence and silent genocide to which the peoples are subjected was intensified after the 1980s, with the initial return of the peoples to their territories, backed by the Federal Constitution. Criminals remain unpunished.

The Project

With the project supported by Brazil Fund, the organization will contribute to the establishment of an articulation of the Kaiowá, Guarani and Terena indigenous settlements, providing training on DHIT to about 200 leaders. The goal is to empower the combat against institutional violence with the purpose of obtaining progress on demarcation procedures.

About 2,000 indigenous and non-indigenous allies will be benefited indirectly by the broadening of these communities’ understanding of their DHIT, through the educational work produced in workshops and published materials.