June 17, 2022

08:06

Bruno Pacheco – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – The indigenous activist Bruno Pereira, who was on leave from the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) to accompany British journalist Dominic Phillips on a mission to the Amazon, had a strong relationship of friendship with indigenous people and was seen as a protector of the native peoples. The activist died at the age of 41, together with the Englishman, after they were threatened by fishermen in the Vale do Javari region in the Amazon, leaving a legacy and a lesson on how to act in defense of native populations.

Trust – a word that refers to the faith you place in someone – was something deposited between both parties, be it from the native peoples towards Bruno, or vice versa. From the image of the “friendly shoulder” in which the indigenist gives in to an indigenous child, in a simple and unique photo that illustrates – so well – the bond of fellowship between both sides and that went viral on social networks, to the video in which Pereira appears singing a song in the Kanamari language, in the middle of the forest, it was possible to observe that the activist was prestigious and respected by the forest people.

“Besides being a partner and activist, Bruno was a personal friend, a brother of the woods, mine and Eliésio’s [Marubo], of Univaja [Union of Indigenous Peoples of Javari Valley] and of all the indigenous peoples of Javari Valley”, the indigenous leader Beto Marubo recalled on Wednesday, 15, after the Federal Police reported the location of “human remains” in the search area for the body of the indigenous leader and journalist.

Beto is a member of Univaja and worked for 14 years (from 2003 to 2017) in one of the bases of the Javari Valley Ethno-Environmental Protection Front, a region in the Triple Border between Colombia, Brazil and Peru, where there is a large presence of drug trafficking. The indigenous leader met Bruno 12 years ago, when the indigenist was beginning his career in the area. With the passage of time and daily contact with traditional populations, the activist has become one of the greatest specialists in isolated or recently contacted indigenous peoples in the country.

On social media, Beto Marubo reaffirmed Pereira’s greatness as an indigenist and said that “any lesson that shows otherwise is with the intention of deconstructing” his history in the area. “He has our respect and is our hero of the Javari Valley”, Beto Marubo said on Twitter.

“Bruno Pereira has been my friend for more than a decade, besides being one of the great indigenists of today”, the indigenous leader stressed last week, when asking for help to charge the authorities to find Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips.

Linguistic wisdom

Bruno Pereira’s relationship with the indigenous people was not merely one of friendship, but of exchanging knowledge, culture, and linguistic wisdom. Besides working for the rights of the native peoples as a Funai employee in the region of Atalaia do Norte, in Amazonas, for more than a decade, even holding the position of regional coordinator, the indigenous official spoke four languages of the local populations and participated in at least ten long expeditions to locate the isolated groups.

In the Kanamari language, whose indigenous group lives in western Amazonas, Bruno Pereira showed his speaking ability by singing a traditional song of this people. In a moving video shared nationally on the Internet, the indigenous man is filmed smiling and, apparently, having fun with friends in a forest area, singing the song.

Also known as “Tukuna”, the majority of the Kanamari live in the upper-middle Juruá River and spread out in the vicinity of the upper Itaquaí, a tributary of the Javari, and also in the middle Javari and Japurá rivers. To the O Globo newspaper, the indigenous leader Eliésio Marubo pointed out that the song sung by Bruno has a strong spiritual appeal and is usually sung during the ayahuasca ritual.

Tragic end

Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips disappeared in the Vale do Javari region, in the countruside of Amazonas state, on June 5th this year, after being threatened in the field. On Wednesday, 15th, the Federal Police (PF-AM) found “human remains” and believes they are those of the indigenous man and the journalist. The police authorities, however, are waiting for an expertise to confirm the identification.