Vigil for the Macuxi People
New York, NY -- The Vigil for the Macuxi will take place
Tuesday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. (prompt)
Saint Peter's Church
54th St. and Lexington Ave.
New York City.
The vigil will be a cultural event, combining music from across the Americas
and presentations by native leaders from the Amazon. These leaders have
amazing stories to tell, and are well worth meeting. The event will focus
on the plight of the Macuxi, who need international support in order to
demarcate their traditional land. Demarcation is essential to the survival
of indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon today, because it represents
the first step in recognizing and preserving their rights as autonomous
peoples.
The Macuxi Indians of Raposa/Serra do Sol Area in Roraima, on the Brazilian
border with Guyana and Venezuela have launched an international campaign to
pressure the Brazilian Government to uphold its constitutionally mandated
responsibility to demarcate the land. The Campaign marks a significant
change in position for the indigenous movements of Brazil: for the very
first time, they are sitting at the table with the government, and forcing
it to recognize them as meaningful players in the debate over the future of
the country.
Amanaka'a Amazon Network, a New York-based, nonprofit educational
organization, is coordinating the U.S. and European components of the
Campaign.
Please call us should you need photos or any further information on
Amanaka'a, the Macuxi Campaign, or the Vigil. We would be happy to provide
them for you.
Program includes:
Indigenous Music and Dance
Presentations by indigenous leaders:
Si Runiku Kaxinawa, Kaxinawa leader, Coordinator
of Kaxinawa Association of Rubber Tappers of the
Jordao River (ASKARJ), 1993 Reebok Human Rights Award
recipient.
Kasiripin Wai pi, Wai pi leader.
Aldaiso Luiz Yawanawa, Yawanawa leader.