Luiz Henrique Eloy Amado
Legal assistance for the Terena People's Council: Research and action on their demands
Mato Grosso do Sul
Objetivos e público prioritário
The project intends to carry out a study of the legal property situation, a mapping of areas reclaimed (indigenous encampments), along with the strengthening of the Council through legal and political training for leaders.
Main activities
– Study of the legal situation and the administrative proceedings necessary for the demarcation of the indigenous Terena tribe’s lands;
– Legal workshops to be held on indigenous lands with leaders who participate in the Ministry of Justice’s dialogue table, such as: Buriti Indigenous Land; Cachoeirinha Indigenous Land and Taunay/Ipegue Indigenous Land;
– Visits to reclaimed areas with the goal of collecting information about the situation of each indigenous encampment, any denunciations of human rights violations and the status of those reports forwarded to the relevant organs.
Context
The Terena are a group of approximately 25 thousand and possess a discontinuous territory. They live on indigenous reserves that have yet to be demarcated in accordance with Article 231 of the Federal Constitution. Currently the Terena communities are constantly mobilizing to assert their land rights. Among these, there are two specific cases deserving of closer attention and constant legal assistance: the legitimate, self-organized movements to reclaim lands and the dialogue (negotiating) table installed by the Ministry of Justice. The reclaimed lands are instruments organized by the indigenous communities themselves, through which they re-occupy previously identified lands which, for some legal or political objection, have had their legal procedures suspended. For those at encampments, they await demarcation while exposed to threats and violence and lacking access to minimal rights (health, education, housing, etc).
About the organization
A native of the Ipegue village in the Taunay/Ipegue indigenous land (in Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul), Terena lawyer Luiz Henrique Eloy Amado will provide legal assistance and work to strengthen the struggle for land by the Terena People’s Council, of which he is a member.
Results
The Terena movement was strengthened in the struggle for their territory. The Terena people demarcated by themselves approximately 10,000 hectares of land, previously in possession of landowners at the service of the agribusiness. Today the land is in the hands of the indigenous community who use it in their traditional way. Such areas came into the hands of the Terena people by the power of a judicial decision, with the effective and decisive involvement of the lawyer Luiz Henrique Eloy Amado.
Funding Line
Annual Call for Proposals
Year
-
Total Granted
R$ 38,300
Duration
10 months
Main Themes
Indigenous peoples' rights
