2002 Events
Voices from the Forest: A Yanomami Perspective
Please join newly appointed RF-US Executive Director Ana Valéria
Araújo, Jô Oliviera of the Comissão Pró
Yanomami, and Mauricio Font of the Bildner Center as
they host a reception to honor respected Indigenous leaders, Davi
Kopenawa and Totó of the Yanomami people.
The evening will include an introduction to the work of the RFUS, and
Indigenous Rights in general, with particular focus on Brazil, followed
by a presentation by Davi and Totó. Their talk will cover several
topics, including the controversial blood sampling done without Yanomami
permission by anthropologists and scientists studying the group in the
60’s and 70’s, a prime example of the way Indigenous human
rights have historically been violated.
After the presentation, attendees will be given the opportunity to ask
questions and exchange ideas. We envision this event as a wonderful
opportunity for members of the legal, non-profit, and academic communities
to come together for an evening of serious discussion and interaction.
It is also meant to provide a forum for the Yanomami to express their
thoughts in their own words. Please feel free to pass on this invite
to colleagues and friends. Light refreshments will be served.
Davi Kopenawa & Totó Yanomami are traditional
leaders of the Yanomami people who live along the border between northern
Brazil and Venezuela. The Yanomami have faced threats to their culture
and land since they were first contacted. It was their lengthy struggle
for land rights, and against gold mining and other activities in their
territory that first gained international media and public attention
for the plight of Indigenous peoples in Brazil in the early 80’s.
The Yanomami were recently granted legal title to their land, but their
struggle continues. Davi has been representing his people at the national
and international level for many years, although he continues to live
in his traditional village. He is one of the most respected and well-known
Indigenous leaders in Brazil and was awarded the United Nation’s
prestigious 500 Years Global Award in 1989 for his efforts.
Ana Valéria Araújo is a human rights
lawyer from Brazil, and a founding member of the Nucleus for Indigenous
Rights, one of the first organizations in the country to use legal instruments
in the defense of Indigenous peoples. Ana also directed the legal department
of the Instituto Socioambiental in Brazil for over 7 years and has been
involved in some of the most important land rights cases in the country.
In 1999 Time Magazine named her one of Latin America’s Leaders
for a New Millennium in the environmental arena. Having sat on the RF-US
board for the past 3 years, Ana assumed leadership of the organization
in February 2002.
Rainforest Foundation US: Founded in 1989, the mission
of the Rainforest Foundation is to support Indigenous and traditional
populations of the rainforest in their efforts to protect their environment
and attain basic human rights. RF-US provides support primarily through
legal and public policy initiatives designed in direct partnership with
local organizations in Latin America. The RF US is part of an international
network with projects in 18 countries with rainforest around the world.
Comissão Pró Yanomami: The CCPY was founded
in 1978 to support the Yanomami peoples of Brazil in their efforts to
secure legal title to their traditional land. The Brasilia-based organization
has been instrumental in bringing the situation of the Yanomami to the
attention of the Brazilian government and public, and supported their
claim for demarcation of their traditional territory, which took place
in 1992. CCPY continues to work with the Yanomami on a variety of projects
aimed at securing their land and ensuring that their rights are respected.
The organization’s major focus in the coming years will be to
work with the group on education, re-forestry, monitoring their newly
demarcated territory and exploring sustainable economic activities.
Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies: The
Bildner Center is a forum for the gathering of academics, students,
policy makers, civil society leaders and other specialists working on
contemporary issues in the Americas. This nonpartisan center’s
broad mission is to create an international community of people, ideas
and enterprises to forward the understanding of the complexities of
social, economic, political, cultural and ecological life in the Western
hemisphere. The Bildner Center was founded in 1982 and operates as part
of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
Contact:
Bildner Center: Rosa Conceicao 212.817.2096
RFUS: Christine Zemina 212.431.9098 x 13
Media: Myra Scheer 212.472.6441
RSVP: By April 9 to 212.817.2096 (Bildner Center) OR 212 431.9098 (Rainforest
Foundation)
When: Wednesday, April 10 at 6 PM
Where: Segal Theatre
The Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(Across from the Empire State Building)
To reserve, please send an e-mail to bildner@gc.cuny.edu OR call 212
817-2096.
