During the world’s hottest month in more than 100,000 years, Indigenous men, women and children from all over Brazil made their way into one of the last great holdouts of the Amazon rainforest for a celebration tinged with sadness and defiance.
Amid rising concerns of drought and growing evidence that the biggest trees in the forest are beginning to die off, they came to Xingu national park to pay their respects to the most effective Amazon protector of them all, the Indigenous chief Raoni Metukire, who has indicated he may be coming towards the end of his activist days.
Tributes came from King Charles III, the patriarch of the Orthodox church and rock royalty in Sting, while more than 800 people attended in person. There were representatives of the Kayapo, Yanomami, Munduruku, Xipaya, Xikrin, Krenak, Wapichana, Guajajara, Paiakan, Arara and Panará, along with Brazilian conservationists, scientists, a government minister, a judge and dozens of foreign supporters. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, failed to attend, citing the need for a medical procedure on his hip.
The ostensible reason for the gathering at Piaraçu, a village in Mato Grosso state, was Raoni’s nominal 91st birthday, though, in truth, like the mightiest trees of the Amazon, nobody is sure exactly how old he is. Raoni has been around longer than most, campaigned more, travelled more, arguably achieved more, and definitely been more visible globally, thanks to his unmistakable lip plate.
Many observed that the event felt like a last hurrah for a leader who appears physically strong and politically astute yet publicly says his days as an activist are waning, prompting speculation about who could fill his role as head of the Kayapo people.
Strong leadership is vital at this extraordinary juncture of national political opportunity and global climate concern that has made the outside world more willing than ever to listen to Indigenous voices but seemingly still unready to sit beside them in negotiations or act in their best interests.
This is a source of frustration before two crucially important meetings in the Amazonian city of Belém that will help to decide the fate of the rainforest: an Amazon summit next month that will bring together the leaders of Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, and the UN Cop30 climate summit in 2025.
Raoni and other leaders believe Indigenous people deserve more than their usual observer status at these events because they have proved themselves as custodians of the world’s best-preserved forest. “I am waiting for a chance to participate,” Raoni said. “When national leaders promise to discuss this issue, we Indigenous listen to them. But we also discuss these things among ourselves and have ideas about how to stop the destruction of the forest.”
Hopes among the country’s nearly 1 million Indigenous people have been rising since Lula became president: he has already appointed the first Indigenous head of Indigenous affairs in the country’s history, created a new Indigenous ministry and promised his government would demarcate more Indigenous territories and put a halt to invasions by illegal miners and land-grabbers.
Since then, as noted by the new Indigenous minister, Sônia Guajajara, at the Piaraçu gathering, there have been significant gains. Six Indigenous territories have been demarcated, forest clearance has fallen by more than a third and the government has launched paramilitary campaigns to drive some miners out of Yanomami territory.
But progress has been slower than many here hoped, while new political and climate threats have emerged, such as a move by Brazil’s powerful ruralista lobby to limit demarcations to areas that were occupied by Indigenous people in 1988. This ruse, which is the subject of a fierce battle in the senate and the supreme court, could halt and even reverse official recognition of territories.
Participants also noted how disturbed the climate has become, with Indigenous shamen observing that the rivers were “sad”, depleted beyond normal levels. Paulo Moutinho, the head of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, observed that the temperature in Piaraçu this week had climbed to 46C, far above the norm in an area where trees usually help to keep the heat down compared with in cleared agricultural plains. Past records suggest this year’s El Niño will bring more droughts and a longer dry season, which will weaken the forest.
“The big trees are dying in the Amazon because El Niños are becoming more frequent and longer in duration so it is harder for the soil to replenish the humidity. This results in water stress for the trees. The Xingu Basin is in a bad situation already and we are expecting a long, strong drought in the coming years,” Moutinho warned.
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, one of the great spiritual leaders of Brazil’s biggest Indigenous territory, expressed concerns about climate change and anger about the lack of state support for his people, whose land is still plagued by illegal miners and the diseases they bring. “If the government can’t resolve this, we are prepared to go to war,” he said.
He wanted to talk face to face with world leaders. “I don’t want to just send them a message. I need to look them in the eye,” he said. “My role is to look after my people. Their responsibility is to care for our planet.”
He praised Raoni for calling the meeting. “This is historic. There won’t be another Raoni born. That worries me a great deal, but the struggle will continue.”
There were positive signs of a changing of the guard, with women taking more leadership positions in the Indigenous movement and government, including Guajajara and the head of the Indigenous affairs agency, Joênia Wapichana.
Alessandra Munduruku, who has led the battle against illegal mining on her people’s land in the Tapajós river basin despite threats to her life, diplomatically but firmly stressed the change in roles. “Women must also be involved in decision-making because we remember we have children. We say to the village leaders that you don’t have to decide alone, we can take some of the responsibility. We are in the frontline now.”
Raoni voiced his frustration at Lula’s failure to attend. “You told me we would talk about the territories that have not been demarcated. I haven’t forgotten this,” he said. “I am not a child. We are of the same generation. We are adults. Before we become too old, we must talk about Indigenous lands for our people to live in peace.”
A declaration from the entire meeting echoed this request, calling on the state to expel illegal miners, annul carbon credit deals and prevent leasing of Indigenous land for industrial agriculture.
On the final day of the gathering, after days of speeches and nights of dancing, the elderly cacique appeared formidably strong, remaining on stage for hours in intense heat, walking around unaided, delivering a 20-minute address and demonstrating his unique ability to unify with a hand-holding moment that brought together Indigenous political rivals, a judge, a local mayor who mostly represents white farmers, senior health officials and female leaders.
The only groan from the crowd was when Raoni intimated he did not have much time left to finish his work. More characteristic was the crowd’s explosion of joy when it was announced that after a 20-year wait, the government had agreed to proceed to the next stage of demarcating Kapot Nhinore, Raoni’s birthplace and the resting place of his ancestors, as Indigenous territory. This news prompted spontaneous chanting and dancing among the Kayapo and smiles and tears among other visitors.
“This is what he dreamed of,” said Patrick Cunningham, a co-author of Spirit of the Amazon. “My only concern is that Raoni has also said that once he can go to Kapot Nhinore, he will be able to end his days in peace.”
