‘A legend for our people’: Inside an Indigenous activist’s death in Brazil
The shooting of Maria de Fatima Muniz has renewed attention towards Indigenous attempts to reclaim ancestral territory.
Mukunã Pataxó remembers his aunt began to sing moments before the gunfire rang out.
Maria de Fátima Muniz, 52, was a spiritual leader among the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe, an Indigenous group in northeastern Brazil. A short, serious woman with dark, shoulder-length hair, she was known to lead her people in prayer and song, her voice deep and steady.
But on January 21, that voice could not quell the violence about to erupt in the rolling green hills outside Potiraguá, a town in the state of Bahia.
About 50 members of Maria’s village had gathered there to set up camp one day prior, in an effort to reclaim part of their ancestral homeland. She, her brother Chief Nailton Muniz and the other Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe activists had planned to plant traditional crops in the area: beans, cassava and corn, alongside medicinal herbs.
But their presence generated backlash among the local landowners. A social media message soon circulated on WhatsApp, calling on merchants, farmers and landholders to “take back” the parcel.
More than 30 vehicles arrived the next morning, blocking access to the roads. The Brazilian government later estimated there were 200 non-Indigenous “ruralists” present. Some came armed.
Mukuna said police on the scene had assured the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe of their safety. Video showed the group chanting at the top of a dirt path, while officers stood metres away.
Law enforcement did nothing, however, as the ruralists raised their guns to shoot, Chief Muniz and his stepson Mukunã allege.
The ruralists opened fire and attacked the group, wounding at least five people and setting fire to Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe vehicles. Chief Muniz was shot in the kidney. And his sister was fatally injured. She died on the way to the hospital.
“The police were watching everything,” said Mukunã, “as if we were nothing to them.”
Maria became the second Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe leader to be shot dead in southern Bahia in the past three months.
Her death has raised lingering questions about the ongoing violence against the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe community — and whether Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva can follow through with his promises to defend Indigenous rights.
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welcome!
this blog loves planet earth and the people in it.
some notes:
I generally try to identify places + groups
I try to make conscious decisions about tags that respect cultural identities, consider historical context and reject imperialism. I realize this is impossible and messy and doomed to be inconsistent. choices I've made include one Korea, one Ireland, and multiple tags for separatist states, i.e. Scotland, Catalan Countries.
I am currently unsure when or if it makes sense to tag the "bigger" nation in a post about an autonomous region, ex. China and Tibet, Faroe Islands and Denmark. I want to respect widespread independence movements, but also not become bloated with regional tags. Tibet deserves to be free of China but I have to laugh at modern Texas separatism.
Israel does not get a tag. Jewish diaspora, Free Palestine, genocide, USA, or anti imperialism are used.
I am not always sure when to use the indigenous peoples tag. if I am unsure I will probably leave it out.
except the history and prehistory tag, I currently am not tagging things that no longer exist, ex. Soviet Union, Roman Empire. I may instead tag with related tags, ex. Russia, Greece
Tags like EU, UK, Africa, Asia, Latin American, Polynesian, etc. are used in posts that refer to many places/groups collectively ex. Lunar New Year in Asia
I try to tag the country/group that an artist/writer/creator belongs to, ex. a post featuring Baldwin tagged with USA, literature, black diaspora
tags are ever-evolving!
country/place tags:
Africa, Albania, Angolia, Argentina, Armenia, Asia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Catalan Countries, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Emirates, Estonia, Ethiopia, EU, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawai'i, Hungary, Iberia, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, free Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, free Tibet, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Wales, West Papau, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
diaspora + ethnic group + cultural group tags:
Ainu, Apache, Bahá'í, Basque, Black diaspora, Chechen, Choctaw, Chulym, Dakota, Dharumbal, Dolgan, Galician, Gavião, Guarani-Kaiowá, Hui, Igbo, immigrants, Ingorot, Inuit, Ixil, Jewish diaspora, Karakalpak, Kashmir, Kazakh, Ket, Khakas, Lakota, Latin American, Lezgin, Mah Meri, Maka, Makonda, Mari, Mohegan, Ojibwe, Pataxo, Polynesian, Pueblo peoples, Purepecha, Q'eqchi', Rapa Nui, Rohingya, Romani, Rukai, Ryukyuan, Sakapultek, Samburu, Sámi, Selkup, Sioux, Tamil, Tatar, Tigray, Tlingit, Tokalau, Uyghur, Yazidi
culture + other tags:
agriculture, airports, animals and wildlife, architecture, art, children, clothing and textiles, dance, ecology and environmentalism, festivals and holidays, film and tv, food, geopolitics, history, infrastructure, language, literature, maps, music, myth and legend, my posts, nature, prehistory, postcards and stamps, public transportation, religions and belief systems, solidarity, sports and games, traditions and customs, true spirit of the blog, urban landscape, water and boats, women
ugly tags:
acab, anti capitalism, anti imperialism, anti misogyny, anti xenophobia, genocide
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Brazil’s family ties
While I do firmly believe Brazil had more than one parent, I think it’s safe to say Portugal is her main father figure.
Now when it comes to her other parental figures I still have many doubts how to put that, because as much as I like the idea of a nation tan for Tupi, I’m not so sure of putting Tupinambas, Tamoios, Pataxos, Tupiniquim and every other natives that fall under the “Tupi” label into a single one representative.
I have this headcanon that since in her early years Manuela didn’t a definitive “mother” figure and things were kinda of blur for her at the time, later to compensate that lack of “mother” Manu made up a idealized maternal figure in Tupiniquim.
The thing is that one of Brazil main cultural roots lays on the huge influence of its indigenous people, but of course with the European colonization and also the numerous attempts of the Brazilian governments to erasure this influence on the country’s sociopolitical image.
For this reason I also like to image that as much Manu has inherited a lot of her indigenous parental figures, she’s still not that very much close to them, even though today she’s actively trying to make things better.
Now speaking of the huge African influence in the Brazilian culture, I don’t see Manu having an actual African parent. Most of the enslaved Africans that were brought to Brazil had all of their identities erased, from the place they came from, to even their own names, so I think I would be extremely disrespectful to put the multitudes of the african diaspora here in Brazil on a single nation tan and call it a day. Nope.
What I can see, is Manu being close to some African nations, like her brother and sister Moçambique and Angola, much for the historical ties she has with them (especially with Angola). She also searches for a way to get back at African ancestry (more in a way of self acceptance), if that’s makes any sense 😅
Other relatives of Brazil are:
* Guarani, who she sees as a kinda of a distant aunt today, even though she’s not much sure of this (which makes Paraguay a very distant cousin)
* Fernando de Noronha, Manu’s almost twin brother
* Marajó, her late older sister, even though they didn’t interacted very much until Marajó’s death in 1754
* And of course, Spain is her uncle, and the rest of the LATAM, especially South Americans, are her cousins
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