BOA VISTA, Brazil – This year alone, Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican, was featured at a special place by Salgueiro Samba School during Rio de Janeiro’s carnival parade, and was given enthusiastic applause during the Cannes Film Festival in France. However, in his home state of Roraima, he has to travel in a patrol car escorted by armed police officers. In addition to being a shaman, 68-year-old Kopenawa is a political leader active in denouncing the gold miners who illegally invaded the Yanomami Indigenous Land, in the Brazilian Amazon. Because he defends the rights of his people, he cannot walk freely. In addition to the gold miners, he makes a point of naming politicians who he sees as enemies of the Yanomami and the Amazon rainforest, such as the recently elected US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro. In an exclusive interview with Repórter Brasil, Kopenawa compared Trump to a “disease,” saying that the Republican politician represents a threat to Indigenous peoples and the environment. The Indigenous leader fears that the influence of Trump and other far-right leaders could pave the way for unbridled exploitation of Indigenous lands. In addition, Kopenawa harshly criticizes Bolsonaro, whom he considers the “son of the military dictatorship” who never cared about Indigenous people or the environment. He says that the Bolsonaro government “ruined everything,” allowing illegal mining to advance in the Yanomami territory and the health of his people to deteriorate. The Yanomami, who inhabit Brazil’s largest Indigenous territory, still face a humanitarian and health…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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