When the ambulance service refused to send a vehicle to the area – which had no healthcare infrastructure and no running water – the nurse technician, who simply goes by Vanda, drove the Covid patient to the hospital herself. Vanda is part of a concerted effort to increase indigenous representation in politics at a time when Brazil’s indigenous population is facing a historic assault on their rights. Attacks on indigenous peoples and their land have escalated under President Jair Bolsonaro, who has dismantled indigenous protection frameworks and encouraged land grabbers and other criminals. It was while documenting this prosecution that indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were murdered in June. A record 181 self-identified indigenous candidates have registered to take part in Brazil’s October 2 general election – a 36% increase in four years. Most of them are running for state or federal parliament and many are entering politics for the first time. “We do not participate in decision-making spheres because this state has always said that it is not a place for indigenous people, it is not a place for women. But I’ve come to realize that it’s exactly where we belong,” says Vanda. “It is our right to occupy these spaces because our absence results in us losing access to public policies.” Kleber Karipuna, executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the country’s largest indigenous organization, says Wapichana’s work advocating for indigenous issues at the congress convinced the Indigenous movement of the importance of increasing representation of in political spheres. APIB has launched a campaign to elect a “head caucus” in state and federal legislatures that will push back against a destructive agenda being pushed by the powerful farm lobby. “We understand today that political representation is necessary to guarantee not only the rights, but also the continued existence of indigenous peoples,” says Samara Pataxó, a member of the Pataxó people in the state of Bahia and the first indigenous woman to work in the upper electoral court. center for diversity and inclusion. Political representation is also about reclaiming Brazil’s indigenous identity – just 0.5% of Brazilians identified as indigenous in the 2010 census. “There is a historical violence to erase the identity of our peoples in this country,” said Vanda, who hopes to see that number rise when the results of the latest census are released later this year. Today, Vanda campaigns in indigenous dress, proudly displaying traditional Witoto face paint. “I wore paint from my ancestral country in Colombia, which represents the tail of the scorpion. The scorpion provides protection and is a symbol of strength. I wear this paint on my political journey in the face of challenge,” he explains. However, Vanda is buoyed by the support she has received and optimistic about her chances of victory, which will require appealing to the non-Indigenous electorate as well. “We want the whole society to see these Indigenous candidates as a ray of light in these decision-making spaces,” he says. Karipuna, the APIB leader, echoes this. “A vote for indigenous candidates is a vote that guarantees the survival of humanity.”
