Illegal gold mining divided an indigenous land in southern Pará. Leaders took different directions. Some indigenous people were co-opted by miners, while others began to organize expeditions to try to catch and fight illegal activity.
In the Baú land, of the Kayapó Mekrãgnoti indigenous people (they call themselves Mebemgôkre), the split is far from over. It is a summary of what it meant by the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) to stimulate mining in these territories, outside the law, over almost four years of management.
In the territory of 1.5 million hectares, equivalent to almost three times the size of Brasília, there are five villages, plus isolated indigenous people. Baú, which bears the same name as the indigenous land, is the mother village, where 24 families, around 150 people, live.
The Baú village has become a focus of resistance to illegal mining. The community lives off extractivism –especially the collection of cumaru and chestnuts–, hunting and fishing.
Members of other villages have already become permissive about mining, an activity that has existed for decades in the region, but which has gained strength since 2018.
“In our struggle, we do not accept mining or loggers. We are protecting the area. But on the other side of the river, there is mining, and leaders working with miners and loggers”, summarizes chief Bepdjo, from Baú village.
An analysis carried out by an expert from the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) in Pará at the end of 2018 already showed high concentrations of mercury in fish collected on Baú land, above the safety limit established by the WHO (World Health Organization).
Fish from the Baú and Curuá rivers are the main source of food in the villages, according to the MPF, which heightened the concern about contamination from mining.
In 2019, the first year of the Bolsonaro government, leaders from villages such as Kamaú decided to formally leave the entity that represents the indigenous people of the territory, the Kabu Institute. The reason, according to the findings of local leaders, was the expectation of easy gain from illegal mining.
Kabu is the institute responsible for managing the resources of the environmental compensation paid for the paving of the BR-163, which connects Santarém (PA) to Cuiabá. Payments were interrupted in 2020, which is disputed in court.
BR-163 is one of the central routes for grain transportation in the Midwest, with a direct impact on indigenous communities in southern Pará. The Kayapó live in five indigenous lands in the region.
The movement to leave Kabu, which represents 11 villages in the Baú and Menkragnotí lands, was the beginning of the process of reopening to mining.
Today, in Terra Baú, the waters of the Curuá River are polluted by mining activities – the color is greyish brown, with a milky appearance. Long stretches of forest have been cut down and excavated in search of gold. Illegal activity is also carried out using dredgers.
THE Sheet visited the site and found the division between the villages, which is very evident in one of the surveillance bases maintained by the indigenous people who supervise and combat mining.
The base is on the Pixaxá River. To reach its mouth, it is necessary to navigate the polluted waters of Curuá for half an hour, upriver. On the way, there is a mining area on the riverbank, recently deactivated after an action by the Federal Police.
On the right side of the river, it is possible to see the area degraded by mining, in the territory of the Kamaú village. On the left side is the untouched forest in the territory of Baú village.
“Some indigenous people sold themselves, about five or six. Today, they no longer work [com o garimpo ilegal]”, says Adriano Amorim, representative of the Mantinó association, which claims to represent the villages of the Baú land, except for the Baú village.
“All Baú land wants to work with extractivism. After the villages left the Kabu Institute, there was an infiltration of miners, and they are looking for gold. leaders”, says Amorim.
Chief Bepdjo says that there are leaders accepting offers from illegal mining. “Each one thinks differently. They accepted the division between us. We speak the same language, we walk together, we fight together. Because of the mining, we were divided.”
In July, the PF carried out an operation on Baú land and destroyed six ferries and six engines used in illegal mining.
One of the ferries, equipped with television and air conditioning, was valued by the police at R$ 2 million. The police seized 82 grams of gold, and a prospector was fined by Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) of R$1 million.
In the disclosure about the operation, the PF pointed out the division between the indigenous people: “The operation also seeks to end the conflict between two indigenous groups of the Kayapó present in the region: a smaller portion, in favor of the presence of the miners, and a larger group, which is against this presence”.
According to the PF, “irregular gold extraction can cause serious damage to the environment, such as pollution of river beds and irreparable damage to fauna and flora, in addition to interfering with the preservation and maintenance of indigenous tribes.”
The Baú and Kamaú villages are close, and there are festivals and relatives that connect the two communities. Illegal mining has been breaking this connection.
Members of Baú decided to fight and even try to close mining areas. Since 2020, five expeditions have already been made. In one place, 40 miners were found.
The PF, in action in July, sought to inactivate four mining areas. In one of them, a new village was founded, with the prospect of illegal exploitation of gold.
The region is difficult to access. From Belém to Novo Progresso (PA), there are 1,600 kilometers. From Novo Progresso to the village Esplanada, it is another 30 kilometers along the BR-163. Two hours on a dirt road separate the village from the entrance to the indigenous land. Pasture, corn plantations and burnt chestnut tree skeletons give way to dense forest from this entrance.
It is still possible to notice branches, within the indigenous land, used for illegal logging.
The counterpoint to illegal mining is made especially by women extractives from the Baú village. With their children in their arms, they fill the paneiros they carry on their backs with cumaru. While they collect the seeds, the men take the opportunity to hunt and fish. Cumaru is used by the cosmetics industry to manufacture oils and fragrances.
The weight on the back is supported by a strap attached to the head. The baskets full of cumaru are transported in the boats to the village, where they are placed to dry in the sun.
“We, from the Baú village, protect our trees, the place where we were born, the deep root of the earth. And we will continue to defend it”, says chief Bepdjo.
