Yanomami Women Lead the Charge Against Illegal Mining in the Amazon

In the heart of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, a powerful movement is taking shape. Indigenous Yanomami women, once sidelined in their own communities, are now at the forefront of a battle to save their ancestral lands from the ravages of illegal gold mining.

Earlier this year, under the vibrant lights of Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome stadium, Yanomami leaders like Davi Kopenawa joined forces with samba schools during Carnival to raise awareness about the crisis unfolding in their homeland. ‘Every day, we face death in our villages and attacks from illegal miners,’ Kopenawa told Al Jazeera. 

Illegal gold mining is surging in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, a mountainous and rainforested region in northern Brazil that spans the size of Portugal. The high price of gold on the global market has made illegal mining extremely lucrative, attracting thousands of wildcat miners, known as garimpeiros, seeking quick profits. During the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro from 2019-2022, environmental protections were relaxed and enforcement against illegal mining was limited, allowing the practice to flourish.