Story

Scorched Earth: Yanomami, Invasions and Epidemics (Portuguese)

Illustration by Gustavo Caboco.

Illustration by Gustavo Caboco.

The Yanomami indigenous people live on the border between the states of Amazonas and Roraima and also in Venezuela. This territory has historically been invaded by illegal mining activities. The journalist and indigenous poet Renata Tupinambá brings interviews and reports from indigenous people and sertanistas about how mining has always been, and still is, a source of violence, death and disease.

Sydney Possuelo, a sertanist, was president of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) between 1991 and 1993. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Sydney Possuelo, a sertanista, was president of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) between 1991 and 1993. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Sydney Possuelo, a sertanist, was president of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) between 1991 and 1993. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Sydney Possuelo, a sertanista, was president of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) between 1991 and 1993. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Anne Soares, co-founder of Rios Profundos and Xapono - the Yanomami Audiovisual Center. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Anne Soares, co-founder of Rios Profundos and Xapono — the Yanomami Audiovisual Center. Image by Avener Prado. Brazil, 2020.

Additional material included in the episode sourced from:

  • Fantástico
  • President Jair Bolsonaro speaking about mining
  • TV Cultura
  • Jornalistas Livres
  • Instituto Socioambiental
  • Survival International Brasil
  • Jornal da Gazeta

Team

This episode was produced by Renata Machado Tupinambá with a script by Clarissa Levy. "Scorched Earth" is a project from Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil, with the support of the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. A production of Fábio Zuker, with Trovão Mídia. The sound direction is by Ricardo Monteiro. The sound editing is by Tomás Xavier. The soundtrack is by studio ó. The podcast artwork is by indigenous artist Gustavo Caboco. Photos by Avener Prado. Prado photographed the podcast subjects from a distance. They are pictures of screens, in which the characters appear a little blurred, half-pixelated.


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