Perception of Kaingang indigenous people about environmental politics in Brazil in the 21st century

Abstract

The Brazilian scenario in the second decade of the 21st century requires attention concerning environmental issues with consequences for the country’s indigenous communities. The article proposes to confront reports from indigenous representatives regarding the increased news dissemination about ecological devastation, with debates about changes in the country’s socio-environmental policy. Interviews with Kaingang indigenous people are used under theoretical contributions highlighting these issues in indigenous populations. The socio-environmental scenario in Brazil and news dissemination on the subject are discussed based on their narratives. Permeating the literature with the produced reports, this socio-environmental scenario is felt in the affective and cognitive perspectives, showing an understanding of the marginalized position that governments treat indigenous populations and the environment.

Keywords:
Indigenous peoples; Indigenous territory; Environmental policy; Social and environmental conflicts; Human-nature relationship

Resumo

O cenário brasileiro na segunda década do século XXI exige atenção no que diz respeito às questões ambientais com consequências às comunidades indígenas do país. No artigo, propõe-se discutir relatos de representantes indígenas quanto ao aumento da veiculação de notícias acerca da devastação ambiental com debates sobre mudanças na política socioambiental do país. Sob aportes teóricos que destacam essas problemáticas em populações indígenas, utiliza-se entrevistas realizadas com indígenas Kaingang. A partir de suas narrativas, discute-se o cenário socioambiental do Brasil e a veiculação de notícias acerca do tema. Permeando a literatura com as narrativas produzidas, entende-se que este cenário socioambiental é sentido tanto na perspectiva afetiva como cognitiva, mostrando entendimentos acerca da posição marginalizada que os governos tratam as populações indígenas e o meio ambiente.

Palavras-chave:
Povos indígenas; Território Indígena; Política ambiental; conflitos socioambientais; Relação ser humano-natureza

Resumen

El escenario brasileño en la segunda década del siglo XXI requiere atención en las cuestiones ambientales con consecuencias para las comunidades indígenas del país. Se propone confrontar los relatos de representantes indígenas sobre la difusión de noticias sobre devastación ambiental con debates sobre cambios en la política socioambiental del país. Bajo aportes teóricos que resaltan estos temas en poblaciones indígenas, se utilizan entrevistas a indígenas Kaingang. A partir de sus narrativas, se discute el escenario socioambiental en Brasil y la difusión de noticias sobre el tema. Permeando la literatura con las narrativas producidas, se comprende que este escenario socioambiental se siente tanto desde una perspectiva afectiva como cognitiva, mostrando comprensiones sobre la posición de marginación que los gobiernos tratan a las poblaciones indígenas y al medio ambiente.

Palabras-clave:
Pueblos indígenas; Territorio Indígena; Política de medio ambiente; conflictos socioambientales; Periodismo Ambiental; Kaingang; Relación hombre-naturaleza

Introduction

The proposition of new environmental policies and restructuring existing regulations are incredibly delicate in Brazil due to its broad territorial extension and the diversity of existing biomes and ecosystems. Political and economic interference is perceived as benefiting a portion of the population to the detriment of others. As a result of these inconsistencies, implementing regulations that add to the conservation of biodiversity and respect for traditional communities that inhabit forest areas continues to be often afflicted by rearrangements of rules that erode the protection of natural areas and promote a profound socio-environmental crisis.

Also noteworthy is the country’s economic position in the world’s production chains: a strong agro-exporter. Currently, agribusiness constitutes a significant portion of the Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and this sector is a necessary contributor to Brazil. There is often a motivation to distort environmental regulations to favor agribusiness, understanding that, in the short term, Brazil heavily relies on this sector for its development.

Faced with this scenario, there are many news items related to the devastation of the environment, which is overwhelmingly affecting Brazil. The media make explicit the changes that have taken place in the physical landscape but also highlight the consequences for the country’s traditional, abundant, and diverse communities, especially the indigenous populations that live in large areas where part of nature remains conserved.

A series of changes and adjustments in managing territories show Brazil’s current socio-environmental challenge, which directly impacts the population’s ways of life. This is because the relationship of human beings with nature is a fundamental part of the development of the ways of life of the human species, especially when discussing the particularity of indigenous populations.

This study proposes to critically discuss the scenario in which Brazil is currently inserted in the political-environmental scope. From the point of view of the environmental problems that have occurred in the last ten years in the country, it brings subsidy to the debate on the human-nature relationship of representatives of the Kaingang indigenous people interviewed. Aiming at understanding this relationship, the objectives are: (i) to explore the social dimension of environmental policies through reports by indigenous representatives regarding the environmental devastation currently occurring in the country; (ii) to advance the debate on the consequences for these populations and the perspectives of this public to face the ramifications of changes in these regulations.

Ethical-methodological pathways

Political-environmental bibliographies, Brazilian environmental regulations, and semi-structured interviews carried out from the perspective of Oral History (MEIHY; HOLANDA, 2013) by the researchers themselves with ten indigenous representatives of the Kaingang ethnic group living in the state of Paraná, in the South of Brazil, were chosen to achieve the proposed objectives.

The interviews took place in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 (Authorization from the National Committee of Ethics in Research with Human Beings (CONEP): CAAE: 29910220.9.0000.5407). The context in which the data collection with the indigenous people was conducted stands out: Brazil had a large number of cases of infection and death from Covid-19; national and international media reported on the growing fires in the Pantanal, the devastation of forest areas in the Amazon, and the infection and murder of indigenous people due to the invasion of indigenous lands.¹

Narratives collected by the authors and studies that discuss data related to the news broadcast in the television media in Brazil and the changes in the country’s environmental policy during the last ten years are presented from the perspective of a work that brings current discussions (CARDOSO REIS, 2019; FEARNSIDE, 2019; MELLO-THÉRY, 2019; GIRARDI et al., 2020; ISA, 2021; INA; INESC, 2022; ISA, 2022). Notably, the attitude of Brazilian government officials towards the environment, especially in the pandemic scenario, in which agencies responsible for the inspection and management of protected areas were dismantled in favor of sectors allied with the Federal Government (2019-2022), particularly agribusiness and mining (GIRARDI et al., 2020; ISA, 2021; INA; INESC, 2022).

The data analysis has a qualitative nature, with triangulation of the literature pertinent to the political-environmental subject, the legislation in force in Brazil regarding land use, occupation, handling, and management, and the references aimed at the human-nature relationship regarding indigenous peoples to disclose the direct consequences for this public considering a space-time approach in which the Kaingang people of Paraná are inserted concerning ongoing environmental policies.

Human-nature relationship: indigenous peoples

The interposed concepts and relationships between nature and human populations are understood as culturally determined and inseparable from the context in which they are produced. In this sense, the connections obtained between society and the natural world of a given people cannot be generalized, as they are not familiar to all groups, thus permeating the simple dichotomy of Eastern and Western thought.

From the perspective of indigenous peoples and their cultures, the relationship established with the surrounding environment is unique, having already been widely discussed by different authors (AYRES, 1990; AB’SABER, 1996; DIEGUES, 2000; BERKES, 2021; BRONDIZIO et al., 2021). Considering that interaction with nature is part of the way of life and the construction of the culture of these peoples and understanding the existing plurality between the different indigenous groups, emphasizing the specific understanding of the Kaingang people on the subject is essential.

Lappe and Laroque (2015) conducted a study with a Kaingang group from Rio Grande do Sul and observed the need to look at the customs and traditions that have been perpetuated for thousands of generations when trying to understand the interconnections between these people and nature that surrounds them, as the environment and the territory modulate the entire social organization of the community. Ayres (2022) recorded a similar aspect with the Kaingang people of Paraná, highlighting the importance of the indigenous territory for reproducing culture and nature. The interviewees were asked about how they relate to the environment, and the following responses were obtained:

The way Kaingang relates to nature is very different. We have a relationship of mutuality. So, we cannot live without nature, and nature will not live without our presence either. So, it is one taking care of the other. But the non-indigenous people look at the land and think about what they are going to get on top of it, what they are going to take from it, and what they are going to possess through that land, with a capitalist view (Interviewee 01, 01/15/2021).

I think that indigenous people, in general, the Kaingang, conserve nature because, as I said before, it is our culture, it does not exist without nature conservation, and one thing is linked to another. So, indigenous populations, mainly the Kaingang, we do value it. All people, all indigenous communities, value nature because the relationship between both is very intimate, between our indigenous culture and the preservation and appreciation of nature (Interviewee 02, 02/03/2021).

The data show an understanding of the existing intrinsic human-nature relationship among the Kaingang, reinforcing the role of indigenous peoples in nature conservation and the link between maintaining their way of life and their culture. It is also seen as a sine qua non condition of the indigenous presence in the territories so that nature is maintained. They recognize the dependence on the resources provided for their subsistence.

Furthermore, the discussions brought by other studies developed with the Kaingang (VEIGA, 2006; LAPPE; LAROQUE, 2015; AYRES; BRANDO, 2022) are in line with the perspective of nature’s contributions to people, as described in the second chapter of the document on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BRAUMAN et al., 2020), which shows that the interaction of human beings with nature allows the co-production of ecological knowledge and a positive impact on people’s quality of life.

Brazilian environmental scenario

Retrospectively, the erosion of environmental policies has been occurring for some decades in Brazil, with conflicts in the composition of this agenda (SANTOS, 2009). There were interventions capable of jeopardizing article 225 of the Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil, which recognizes that: “Everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment” (BRASIL, 1988), such as requirements in terms of licensing and environmental management. However, the 21st century is marked by a series of setbacks through the public policies in force under legislative anchorages and provisional presidential decrees, reaching the apex in recent years (2018-2022) due to a ministry-leadership contrary to the ministry of environment (FEARNSIDE, 2019; GIRARDI et al., 2020).

The financing flowing in from developmental currents stands out when exploring the reasons for the existing aggravations in the Brazilian environmental problem, benefiting from the flexibilization and setback in socio-environmental regulations. The constant political debate is intrinsic to the environmental agenda, especially with civil society groups linked to areas or measures that will interfere more directly with the territories occupied by traditional populations (SANTOS, 2009).

The reform of the Forest Code, modified in 2012, is among the measures that directly impact this scenario, adding setbacks and further weakening the standards in favor of environmental protection. The best example is the updating of Environmental Rural Registries (CARs) by landowners, which did not pass through the validation process by environmental agencies, resulting in high overlapping rates of public domain Conservation Units (CUs) with private properties. In this sense, Amazonian indigenous lands stand out, with more than 3.5 million hectares of CUs overlapping with CARs (ISA, 2022).

Another factor worth mentioning is the denial of environmental issues such as climate change and increased deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, which is also internationally felt. According to Mello-Théry (2017; 2019) and Instituto Socioambiental (ISA, 2022), although setbacks were perceived in the environmental ministry in previous governments, there was a minor advance related to the maintenance of biodiversity and water resources but almost non-existent in the last ten years.

A technical consortium called Climate Action Tracker was formed due to the increase in environmental issues, especially those that lead to changes in global climate dynamics. Among the debates explaining the monitoring of the goals of the signatory countries of the Paris Agreement regarding the attempt to stabilize climate change, the members of this group identified the distance of the Brazilian government in actions that prioritize the reduction of environmental degradation, demonstrated by measures that make it unfeasible the effectiveness of compliance with global agreements, emptying environmental technical discussions, with increasing budget cuts and making environmental regulations more flexible (GIRARDI et al., 2020).

Fearnside (2019) describes the primary means of erosion of environmental control that have been arranged within the policy in force in the country. The author adds that this problem “occurs due to the transfer of authority, the use of ‘conditions,’ non-compliance with the law and the regulations of the Licensing Department of IBAMA, and corruption and political donations” (p. 322). Regarding these means, other authors have also criticized the current Brazilian action plan, which seeks to loosen regulations on environmental licensing and the occupation of green areas, reinforcing an asymmetrical colonization continuity over Brazilian lands to the detriment of non-existent commercial development (CARDOSO REIS, 2019; FEARNSIDE, 2019; MELLO-THÉRY, 2019).

An essential milestone regarding environmental setbacks is the change in the governmental structure published in the Official Gazette (DOU) in January 2019 regarding the Brazilian Forest Service, the demarcation of indigenous and quilombola lands, and the creation of CUs, which became part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. The Ministry of Economy Resolution No. 162 was also published in the DOU in the first month of 2021, which deals with the process of granting forest concessions also by the Ministry of Agriculture under the justification that this regulation aims to combat land grabbing and predatory exploitation (BRASIL, 2019; 2020).

Considering the context in which the country is currently inserted in socioenvironmental terms and the process that excludes the population in decision-making, discussions about the technical information on the impacts of these changes do not permeate public debate, not even with the directly affected populations. When communities are heard, their opinions are often not considered when proposing and applying regulations (SILVA; SATO, 2012; GIRARDI et al., 2020).

Taking the demarcation of indigenous lands as an example, this agenda is often set aside to the detriment of land ownership for mineral extraction or agriculture by economically competitive groups to justify economic development (SILVA; SATO, 2012). There is even a law project under discussion (PL 191/20, PL490/07) regulating mining in indigenous lands, which is now considered illegal (GIRARDI et al., 2020; INA; INESC, 2022).

Furthermore, Brazil is still experiencing a colonization model, especially exploiting natural resources to feed a capitalist development model. This flow goes toward making the ways of life of traditional peoples unfeasible, attacking them and delegitimizing their rights to the lands they have occupied for thousands of years and the intangible heritage that is intrinsic to their relationship with their territory (ARRUDA, 1999; SILVA; SATO, 2012; CASTILHO, 2018). These processes are understood to be related to the environmental policies in force, in which the existence and resistance of these communities and the ideal of nature conservation are disqualified in the face of the economic growth of a small portion of the population (GIRARDI et al., 2020).

The Kaingang and nature

The disappearance of indigenous peoples has been recorded as a historical contingency since the sharp population decline between 1500 and approximately 1970 due to the genocide imposed by non-indigenous colonizers. However, this population has grown almost six times more than other groups of Brazilian citizens in recent decades, according to the National Indigenous Peoples Foundation (FUNAI) (FUNAI, n.d.).

Regarding the number of inhabitants, there is a smaller number of indigenous people in the South and Southeast of Brazil. Specifically, Paraná has three ethnic groups: Guarani, Kaingang, and Xetá. The geographical distribution of currently recognized Indigenous Lands (IL) and the historiography of the state show the occupation of different environments in the region in diverse biomes, including mangroves, fields, cerrado, and forests. The use of ancestral technologies by these peoples to enable agriculture, gathering, hunting, and fishing in different environments is already recognized (MOTA, 2014; AYRES et al, 2023).

Among the ethnic groups that inhabit the state of Paraná, this study highlights the Kaingang people, belonging to the Macro-Jê linguistic trunk, which is known to be the third largest ethnic group considering the number of inhabitants in Brazil, according to FUNAI (FUNAI, n.d.). Its social organization and dualistic cosmology are striking, highlighted above all by the original belief that proposes the existence of two brothers, asymmetrical and complementary, Kamé and Kairu, the ancestors of the entire Kaingang people (NIMUENDAJU, 1993). In addition, this group stands out for the dispersion and maintenance of the Araucaria Forests, a fundamental biome of the state (UNIVERSITY OF EXETER, 2018).

The history of these people is marked by several clashes and land invasions that occurred centuries ago due to agricultural expansion and drover activity, which resulted in the seizure of territories belonging to them and the extermination of part of their people and culture. Nevertheless, the Kaingang peoples resist in Paraná, always seeking the devolution and demarcation of their territories and maintaining their culture. An example of this is the kiki, the central ritual of the Kaingang, a ceremony of worshiping the dead, with paintings, dances, and chants inspired by the worldviews of the clan moieties that compose them (VEIGA, 2006; LAPPE; LAROQUE, 2015).

Kaingang’s relationship with nature is specific. It has an intrinsic meaning, mainly because they understand the relationship of mutuality between maintaining the environment and their culture and way of life, that is, their people. Because of this unique perception, indigenous peoples are increasingly being called upon by international arenas to contribute to issues related to biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation (BRAUMAN et al., 2020; AYRES, 2022).

According to the data collected in this study, emphasizing the role of indigenous territories is necessary when discussing the relationship between the Kaingang and other indigenous peoples with the environment that surrounds them and changes in environmental legislation:

We need the demarcated village; we need our ancestral territory so that we can live in community on these territories and practice our cultures and traditions; it is this relationship with the land, the planting time, the harvesting time, this cosmology with the sun and the moon, our marks, the duality of our history, our foods, our relationship with cassava, with corn, it is the spoken language, the maternal language passed down from mother to child (Interviewee 01, 01/15/2021).

This narrative shows the importance of indigenous territories for the conservation of the cultural diversity of these groups, serving as an “area of cultural, religious, cosmological reproduction” (Interviewee 04, 10/28/2020) (GROOM et al., 2005; AYRES; BRANDO, 2022). These territories represent their culture and cosmology, a space of meanings and reproduction of their way of life. Furthermore, the maintenance of these territories and the existence of traditional knowledge, ecological or not, have acquired an essential role in planning initiatives to mitigate global environmental problems (BERKES, 2021; BRONDÍZIO et al., 2021; AYRES, 2022).

The importance of the discussion on environmental policies and the mitigation of socio-environmental disasters that have been occurring in Brazil refers to the role of indigenous territories and their own people, as these individuals and their lands have been under pressure from legislative proposals as FUNAI itself, which has been against the environmental ministry (INA; INESC, 2022). In addition, the dismantling of environmental inspection agencies and the lack of interest in promoting the protection of indigenous lands have been noticed by these groups, whose territories have been invaded, generating conflicts:

Deforestation is still very high. Today, I speak for ourselves here; we have an association and a lookout group within these indigenous territories, an environmental lookout group with exceptional work, but more is needed. We have no resources; they have no resources. So, it is also challenging to work with that. The surveillance vehicle is an old Toyota, so it is hard to work too, but they try their best, you know? (Interviewee 04, 10/28/2020).

It has been regrettable even when I see that the authorities that should protect do not protect and even encourage violence against the indigenous population. I see it as a way of exterminating; we, my people, are being significantly harmed because we have always had precarious conditions regarding health and care and appreciation and preservation of nature. I see that we are harmed considerably in this regard, so it seems that it ends up being a way of exterminating us. I always hear that indigenous populations have to be civilized, but I think that if this is our civilization, I would not want it to influence communities (Interviewee 02, 02/03/2021).

Perceptions of environmental devastation: Kaingang perspective

Interlocutions of Kaingang indigenous people about the environmental devastation of recent years in the Brazilian territory were sought to understand the human-nature relationship by traditional communities, understanding that these populations, in proximity to the surrounding environment, have developed management strategies and affective connections that are different from those usually exposed in Western society (AB’SABER, 1996; AYRES, 2022; AYRES; BRANDO, 2022).

Lappe and Laroque (2015) discussed the reciprocal relationship between the Kaingang and nature on the importance of the territory for this population due to the presence of natural elements that support and maintain their culture. Still from this perspective, nature for the indigenous people, unlike western-capitalist societies, is not seen from a purely utilitarian perspective but rather as a place of reproduction of their way of life, beliefs, and cultural rites. Thus, considering the constant expropriation of their territories, the critical processes for the survival of Brazilian indigenous peoples have been compromised.

From the indigenous perspective, these authors still argue that “society and nature, as well as humans and non-humans, do not represent distinguish categories. They are treated as collectivities that interrelate and complement each other” (LAPPE; LAROQUE, 2015, p. 152). Ailton Krenak (2019) also considered it when establishing these views, vehemently criticizing the separation of humanity and nature, understanding that recognizing the diversity and non-human superiority is an alternative to prevent environmental devastation. The conception of the Kaingang indigenous people interviewed in the present study was very similar when asked about the increase in news about the destruction that is taking place in protected forest areas, such as the burning and deforestation of the Amazon, and about the relationship between this and the invasions of ILs.

Indigenous people realize that the responsibility for preserving nature rests only with them and public authorities, exempting the non-indigenous population from sharing this obligation:

It is hard to talk about non-indigenous people, you know? They focus a lot on the indigenous people preserving nature, ‘they are the ones who should preserve it, and I can kill, take wood, do whatever I want.’ However, they often enter indigenous communities and destroy nature, you know? It affects our emotions. The emotions of the indigenous people. Because nature and animals are part of our life (Interviewee 10, 11/18/2020).

In addition, their speeches show recognition and awareness of the project to exploit the lands they occupy and, consequently, exterminate the populations living in these environments, highlighting:

Deforestation, fires, and murders of indigenous people are a feeling of certain impotence and indignation. It is also seen that the Government does little to preserve indigenous lands and, consequently, the preservation of indigenous peoples. So, it is unfortunate for me, right? (Interviewee 03, 11/30/2020).

It is difficult to talk about an invasion because my uncle, who also lives in the neighboring village, was killed by an invader, who wanted the land, and he did not like it and killed my uncle; it’s been a month since he lost his life because of that invasion. Hence, we are in despair sometimes. The white people do not have the same blood as the indigenous people. The Indigenous people do not kill for pleasure, but I think that white people sometimes kill for pleasure because they always say in the village that you have to destroy what you will eat. If I kill a pig, I will eat it; if I kill an armadillo, it is for my livelihood. So, we have this issue. But we also live in fear (Interviewee 06, 12/01/2020).

These reports are covered with feelings, especially impotence, a term often used by these people to demonstrate the scenario in which Brazil finds itself in environmental terms. In addition, the relationship between the devastation processes of nature and invasions of indigenous lands is evident for this part of the population, and their speeches indicate that this is a recurring event, even triggering the murder of indigenous people within their areas and alongside their families.

Although the interviews in this study were conducted in late 2020 and early 2021, according to Will (2014), the project of genocide and illegal taking of protected areas has been registered for a long time and is not new to any Brazilian. However, as Girardi et al. (2020) pointed out, the reforms that took place and the dismantling of environmental inspection agencies aggravated this situation.

Looking back at the characterization of the culture and social organization of the Kaingang, it is essential to note that this group establishes an intimate connection with the environment that surrounds it and its territory. Its myth of origin is related to the creation of the environment in the perspective of a duality between all the elements of nature, in which the human being is inserted, therefore, as equal to other species and inanimate resources (NIMUENDAJU, 1993; MOTA, 2014; AYRES; BRANDO, 2022). A tradition recalled by Lappe and Laroque (2015) further reinforces this connection, as is the case of burying the umbilical cord of Kaingang newborns within their territory, indicating ownership and belonging to the lands they occupy.

The effectivity of the subjects with the environment is strengthened as the relationships between the communities and the territory are established. The consequences of the easing of environmental regulations promoted by government policies do not only affect the physical balance of the environment but also the psychic balance of the people who deposit in their territory the need to preserve their culture and their way of life, as highlighted in an excerpt from one of the collected interviews: “The preservation of nature is the preservation of indigenous peoples, right? Because one does not exist without the other” (Interviewee 05, 12/02/2020). The speech shows the indissociable relationship of indigenous peoples with the territory they occupy, understood by them as essential for their maintenance and survival.

Media perspective: the environmental problem

Although in 2020, the environmental issue, mainly because of the fires that occurred in the Amazon Forest, has been put on the agenda several times in the Brazilian media (GIRALDI et al., 2020; MELLO-THÉRY, 2019), this subject has been discussed by researchers such as Santos (2009) and Girardi et al. (2020), showing that the reality of recent years does not follow this trend. The most significant journalistic interest in reporting this issue on television dates back to the 1980s, albeit sparsely, driven by the environmental and conservationist movement, including global meetings on the subject, such as Eco-92 and the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 (BARROS; SOUZA, 2008; MELLO-THÉRY, 2019).

Regarding the current scenario of Brazilian media coverage, part of the reason for more restrained broadcasting is the pressure of sponsors linked to large enterprises, such as agribusiness, mining, or others. The role of journalism and compliance with the environmental agenda stand out as a “subject of public interest because it affects everyone, at different levels and sectors, from people’s health to the maintenance of cultural practices associated with nature” (GIRARDI et al., 2020, p. 53). It is believed that there is no interest in making the population aware of this cause since it goes against many principles assumed by the market and fallacious government speeches.

Complementarily, the fulfillment of environmental journalism’s informative, political, and pedagogical functions must also be permeated by a contextualized and systemic view of the facts beyond the human communities affected by environmental problems, all species, and degraded ecosystems. In this sense, issues not directly treated as environmental, such as pandemics or the emergence of new diseases, must be shown and portrayed, as it is known that the systemic and transdisciplinary view of events allows actors to develop a critical look at environmental issues.

Faced with the tragedies and environmental crimes that have been happening in Brazil, especially after the rupture of the Brumadinho ore tailings dam, which occurred in 2019, the transmission of environmental news in broadcast programming grew in Brazil (GIRARDI et al., 2020). This change was felt by researchers in the area, indicating that only major natural disasters previously had space in the programming. The explanation for this change and higher environmental coverage in television news recently is related to a demand from society and international pressure on this issue (GIRARDI et al., 2020). Under this scenario and focusing on the invasions of indigenous lands, the present study raised questions from Kaingang representatives about the subject, of which the following report stands out:

The news about the devastation of indigenous lands you mentioned here increased a lot this year because the devastation of indigenous lands by land grabbers and farmers has always happened in this country since 1500, and it always has. It increased a lot this year because of the fires, which had repercussions and reached the big centers, right? However, there have always been fires in the Amazon, there has always been deforestation, and there have always been invasions of indigenous lands, including in the South; the North always has it. The thing is: it is not reported. Every day indigenous people are dying because of agriculture. Because of this fight between indigenous people, farmers, ranchers, and indigenous people and land grabbers, it always happens, right? […] The second issue is the indifference of the Federal Government concerning this; we cannot even comment on the Federal Government […] It has always been a mismanagement of indigenous causes. So, this is a moment of concern for me, especially about my family. In relation to relatives and people, who are together, always with us, people who are always with us. Regarding the pandemic and about deforestation, it has always been there; this is not shown in the media, and there is a lack of interest at the national level for deforestation to stop because it is absurd for them for national development; if deforestation stops, agro is pop. However, agro is not pop; agro must be sustainable and not destroy nature, and indigenous peoples know how to do this, indigenous peoples do this, and people do not look because we have always been marginalized. For me, that’s it; I think it only got stronger because the smoke reached the big cities. Otherwise, it would be the same thing as always, what indigenous peoples live every day, right? (Interviewee 08, 11/25/2020).

There is a clear perception that news dissemination restricted to specific environmental disasters or international events has been noticed, especially by marginalized groups that resist environmental crimes. We highlight the section in which interviewee 08 talks about the smoke reaching large centers, indicating that the news was only released and had such an impact due to the consequences for the most populous and urban states, as the reality for indigenous populations has been like this for a long time but never dealt in the media with such fervor.

The media scenario regarding environmental issues, the growing setback in environmental policies, and the emptying of agencies that promote the dialogue between society and the maintenance of the existing landscape have connection points that can be discussed from the perspective of the human-nature relationship. Considering the indigenous populations as subjects who have an intrinsic relationship with the land they inhabit and promote the conservation of flora and fauna as a consequence of the mutual reinforcement between the group’s culture and environmental practices (AYRES, 2022), the results of changes in environmental policies, especially those related to the flexibility in the occupation of forested areas and, consequently, deforestation and other environmental problems, are currently analyzed by these individuals, who understand and claim their right to use the environment as a place of cultural, ecological, and political reproduction, for example:

Reading this news of the death of so many indigenous people in Brazil. […] mainly because the indigenous people are trying to defend their lands and families. However, I believe that the risk of deforestation, the withdrawal of indigenous people from their lands, and, unfortunately, the increase in murders, practiced mainly by invaders, are very significant if the public authorities do nothing in the coming years (Interviewee 03, 11/30/2020).

The increase in the dissemination of environmental news may be a reflection of the governance model adopted by the federal government in the last ten years, which favor the flexibility of environmental policies, emptying the inspection agencies, changing the environmental licensing process, and designating low-qualified professionals to occupy positions related to the planning and execution of socio-environmental measures favorable to nature and indigenous peoples (GIRALDI et al., 2020; AYRES, 2022; INA; INESC, 2022; ISA, 2022).

The reform of the Forest Code stands out among the problems faced by indigenous peoples in the last decade, which resulted in significant overlap of indigenous territories and CUs with the registries of rural areas without the correct inspection of environmental agencies (ISA, 2022). In addition, a series of measures and obstacles to indigenist action promoted by FUNAI in the role of its new leaders, such as encouraging the economic exploitation of indigenous territories, contribute to worsening socio-environmental conflicts (INA; INESC, 2022).

Final Considerations

The sociopolitical dimensions of changes in environmental regulations that directly affect indigenous populations, such as the overlapping of CUs and indigenous territories with registries of distinctive rural properties, as well as their perceptions on disseminating news about environmental devastation, were evidenced by this study considering the proposed objectives. Kaingang’s narratives on these subjects and the developments in the human-nature relationship stood out. The Kaingang people interviewed shared their views on the current easing of environmental legislation, the increasing dissemination of these issues by the television media, and the constant environmental devastation.

The need for the disjunction between legislators and those interested in an unbridled economic expansion, who often regulate how and when environmental regulations will be implemented, is debated to develop an acceptable environmental policy.

Management models that consider the perceptions of civil society must be regarded as essential for achieving a favorable balance in the economic, environmental, and social spheres for traditional communities and indigenous peoples. Currently, the way decisions have been taken does not consider the needs of indigenous peoples, resulting in socio-environmental conflicts, often related to the invasion of ancestral territories, environmental devastation, and indigenous genocide. Government models and public policies that do not consider these problems continue to perpetuate the violence and marginalization of these groups, the destruction of their lands, and the erasure of their cultures.

This is a challenge to be faced, mainly because of the diverse interests, which result in environmental degradation and the repercussion of a negative image of indigenous peoples, such as those who harm the country’s economic development with their way of life and occupation of territories. Breaking with the classic patterns of the country’s economy represents a laborious process, understanding that the institutions designated to protect these issues are being emptied and qualified professionals are being discriminated.

The dialogues with indigenous people about environmental degradation and the presence of this subject in the Brazilian media, permeated by environmental regulations, showed that they would have much to add to the debate if called to participate in the construction of socio-environmental public policies. However, these policies end up being published without actively listening to these people, who know significantly about their territories and describe land uses and management of flora and fauna and can contribute to mitigating problems related to biodiversity loss, climate change, and deforestation.

The emotional perception highlights the concern that the dismantling of the environmental ministry also represents the dismantling of their cultures and ways of life, as they are known to exercise an interdependent relationship in maintaining nature and their people. The narratives about news dissemination stand out, showing understanding and recognition that environmental issues are treated with contempt in more peripheral regions of Brazil, a reflection of an unequal country that puts interest and economic development ahead of the socio-environmental problems of a portion of the population.

Acknowledgments

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001

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• 1
  - Some news that exemplifies the moment in which the interviews were carried out can be found in the Editorial of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB, 2021): https://emergenciaindigena.apiboficial.org/files/2020/12/APIB_nossalutaepelavida_v7PT.pdf.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  17 July 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  25 May 2021
• Accepted
  21 Nov 2022