"We call on Brazilian society and the international community to unite with the struggle of native peoples in defense of traditional territories, Mother Earth, and the well-being of all forms of life."

The recent barbaric attack on a peaceful land occupation of the Gamela people is the latest example of the drastic and intensifying threats to the fundamental human rights and territorial protections of indigenous peoples in Brazil. As they confront political and physical threats unprecedented since the fall of the country's military dictatorship, Brazil's minorities remain resolute in their determination to resist the repressive political regime spearheaded by President Michel Temer's administration.

To that end, four days of intense activities and protest marked the latest "Free Land Encampment," the largest gathering in the fourteen-year history of this yearly mobilization. More than 4,000 representatives of nearly 200 ethnicities converged on the capital city Brasilia, demonstrating the power and diversity of Brazil's National Indigenous Movement (MNI).