"I say this because I know that if you want to take care of the forest, you need to invest in us – indigenous peoples – because no one takes better care of the forest than we do."
–Antonio Dace Munduruku

The Munduruku people have never lived in peace. They are brute warriors; today the difference is they now fight with paper and pen. They say now that their best defense is their word and the law to protect them. No law, however, seems to stop devious plans the government has for destructive dam projects in the Tapajós region where they live.

"The government sends the national force, the army, the federal police here as if we were criminals instead of sending them to where the crimes actually happen," said Antonio Dace Munduruku in a conversation during a recent National Assembly. "The government keeps trying to intimidate us, but we will never lower our heads."

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