[Cover photo: Krahô women preparing for traditional ceremony. Photo by Luisa Bagope]
In September 2024, Indigenous women gathered in TI Kraholândia (Kraholândia Indigenous Territory) to exchange knowledge and establish a new women-led land defense team to protect their lands.
TI Kraholândia is located in the heart of the Brazilian Cerrado and is one of the world's most pristine and diverse savanna ecosystems. It is also a cultural hotspot where many traditional communities preserve their languages and heritage.
Indigenous Peoples worldwide are getting greater recognition as the custodians of their ancestral lands, safeguarding the rich biodiversity and cultural heritage within them. What is still less acknowledged, however, is the role that Indigenous women play; they are often at the forefront of resistance, engaging in daily struggles to safeguard both their lands and families’ futures. As such, they are key contributors to the preservation of endangered ecosystems, territories, and cultures. This is the context in which more than 60 women from the Krahô, Guajajara of Arariboia, and Guajajara of Carú Indigenous nations gathered from the 16th to 23rd of September at the Galheiro Novo Indigenous Land in the state of Tocantins, Brazil.
In early 2023, as we organized the first Earth Defenders Toolkit Gathering, the dream of a local, women centered meeting to share knowledge on land protection began to grow. This dream blossomed in September, into the first Women's Meeting that Awana has supported on Indigenous land. Over the course of eight days, the women gathered shared their experiences and formalized the women only chapter of the Me Hoprê Catêjê Krahô, a group of 12 Krahô women environmental guardians who will be joining men land defenders in initiatives dedicated to enhancing territorial protection within the Kraolândia Indigenous Territory. While the collaboration among these Indigenous women has grown over the years, the opportunity to meet and have the ability to embark together on their first monitoring patrol was significant. About 30 men from the same Indigenous nations joined these women, alongside the Awana Digital team, collaborators from the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) and the Indigenous Work Centre (CTI).
The endangered Cerrado biome, spans around 2 million square kilometers and is home to the Krahô women environmental warriors. This land is threatened by high levels of deforestation for mono-agriculture, illegal logging, and mining. Together with other Indigenous Peoples of the Cerrado, the Me Hoprê Catêjê Krahô, are on the frontlines facing the effects of global climate change, including extreme weather conditions, increased contamination of water bodies, droughts, and a rise in fires. This reality jeopardizes their survival by intensifying threats to their land rights and their traditional lifestyles.
The establishment of the Me Hoprê Catêjê Krahô guardians group is evidence of the strength and resilience of Indigenous women. However, their dedication to preserving their territory goes beyond mere environmental activism. For them, 'territory' is more than just a geographical space; it is a living entity that sustains and reflects their cultural, spiritual, and physical well-being. From this perspective, the escalating threats to the environment mirror the escalating threats to the physical bodies as well as the spirits of Indigenous women. While most people can readily identify threats like deforestation, illegal logging, land grabbing, invasive agriculture, and the exploitation of oil and minerals, fewer are aware of the harm faced by Indigenous women. This includes sexual violence, abduction, femicide, food insecurity, and a lack of access to healthcare services, among other issues.
According to the report Violence Against Indigenous People in Brazil, 2023’ Data at least 30 Indigenous women in Brazil were killed in 2023 alone. Additionally, "several cases of attempted femicide against Indigenous women have been recorded in three different states, highlighting the vulnerability of these women to violent attacks." In Brazil, feminicides rates has increased of 31.46% between 1980 and 2019. Although this reality may seem distant, it is far too frequent an occurrence: just two weeks before the Women's Gathering on the Krahô Indigenous Land, two Guajajara women from Arariboia were killed by their partners – outsiders to their territories.
“Kupens (non-Krahô people) come into the territory to kill and destroy, not to build a family. They come to kill Mejis (Krahô people) and steal our resources", explained Kruwakwyj Krahô.
This truth is shared by Indigenous women from many other nations, who are increasingly concerned about the rising number of non-Indigenous individuals seeking to marry Indigenous women; they consider it a neocolonial trend, linked to land and resource grabbing. The Krahô women environmental warriors believed that the pressures surrounding land ownership and use of Indigenous territories were connected to the growing rates of femicide and violence against Indigenous women. “We know that we are leaving, but we don't know if we are coming back alive”, explained Paulinha Guajajara, member of the Guerreiras da Floresta referring to the monitoring and mapping work that the women forest warriors do and its risks.
These dynamics have also fostered greater divisions and internal territorial conflicts within Indigenous communities, many of which already grapple with challenges to uniting their efforts amid loss, hardship and other divisive forces. “Sometimes, to protect this land, you will have to fight against your own people, but that is the only way forward. Land defense requires that we tidy up our own house first", explained Cícera Guajajara.
The courage and conviction of the Guerreiras Kraho cannot be overstated. They assert their position not just as caretakers, but as formidable agents of change. Their initiative is much more than a response to external threats; it is an affirmation of their enduring connection to the land and cultures and their determination to ensure its stewardship for generations to come.
It is relevant to note that the growing connection between the Me Hoprê Catêjê Krahô guardians and the Guerreiras da Floresta represents a vital step toward Indigenous women's empowerment and enhanced land defense in the region. These women are fighting to protect over 470,000 hectares between the Cerrado and the Brazilian Amazon, and now have built a channel for learning and strategy exchange.
Amid the significant challenges faced by Indigenous women, Awana Digital is honored to be welcomed into their territories, where we are working towards contributing to strengthening the connections between human and digital technologies for the benefit of the planet and its people.
We are excited to announce a second Indigenous Women's Gathering in Brazil, set to take place in 2025 on the land of the Guerreiras da Floresta. We also hope to scale our efforts to direct funding towards women-led initiatives, and to more comprehensively integrate the gender lens across all aspects of our work.
By amplifying the voices and realities of Indigenous women, we reaffirm the essential nature of Indigenous women's leadership in land protection. As the Me Hoprê Catêjê Krahô guardians expressed: they are the guardians of the land, but everyone else is expected to contribute to its defense.