10/17/03 UPDATE

This is an email written by Wendy, a San Francisco Bay Area woman working to help the Fulni-o as well as other indigenous tribes.

"I wanted to update you all on my progress with helping the Fulni-o Tribe. I
was told by spirit that organisation was needed first and foremost, so I've
been doing my best and researching the web.

I attended a meeting about the Landless Worker's Movement (MST) here in
Berkeley. It's an incredible organization commited to helping erase the
appauling poverty situation in Brazil. As a result of this meeting I was
able to be connected with other NGO's and grassroots organizations working
towards eliminating poverty, thirst and hunger in Brazil.

There is a HUGE movement in Brazil right now, to do all of the above, and is
being supported by President Lula. There has been such pressure from over
600 organisations, that the federal government has now made this their
priority. And even better, CARITAS (a church organisation) is acticve in
"The Programme in Support of Living in Semi Arid Regions" ie. The North East
of Brazil. They are already helping indigenous communities by providing
wells and water tanks. The government is supporting a project to provide 1
million water tanks over the next 5 years to provide water for over 5
million people (and that, is for the North East only). BINGO.

I have contacted this organisation to see if they already have a team
allocated to the Fulni-o tribe, and if not, I hope to move things along
quicker for them. I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime, keep praying
for them.

Blessings, Wendy"

10/10/03: UPDATE

Pedro, a native Brazilian man who is helping the tribe, visited the site for 10 days early September and was faced with a number of challenges. Firstly, Pedro experienced extreme distress from witnessing the people living in such dreadful poverty with very little water and food. “How they scrape by and survive is amazing to me” said Pedro. But as we know, people in struggling third world countries somehow survive. He feels they have lost their sense of community through their desperation, and they are confused and have lost direction. They are afraid that the children will be unable to learn the traditional methods of farming and hunting.

Ecosystem & Environment
The natural habitat is dry and semi-arid with a few trees and scrubs growing. Typically and traditionally the land received 3 months of rainfall from May to July, and this was sufficient to grow corn and beans for the entire company for a whole year. Now that the rain has stopped for 4 years they cannot grow these essential crops for their food and for trade.

Land Rights
Way back when (dates and facts are very uncertain at this point) cattle ranches bought the land from people who did not even own the land, as the land belonged to the Fulni-o Indian Tribe. Hence to Fulni-o have been driven from some of their land and they are still being encroached upon by local communities.

Neighboring Town
The town close by has a population of approximately 60,000, which exists upon land that officially belongs to the Indians, (as stated by the Government of Brazil.) So, the land belongs to the Indians but the bricks and mortar do not. So the Government is buying back the land from the new land owners, and paying the inhabitants to relocate. They are actually moving out as they are afraid of conflict and unrest. However the landowners are not being given a good deal so they are unhappy with the situation. If everybody is relocated then the Indians can move to the town where there is sufficient water systems and supplies set up for all. But, how long will this take? In the meantime we need to help the Fulni-o Tribe.

Wells
There are already 4 or 5 wells that have been dug in and around the Fulni-o land, but the ownership, location and rights to the water is very vague, as Pedro was told many differing stories from the local people. Some say that the well is for the community and another will say, no it is on my land, and therefore it belongs to me. So water, if any, is being well guarded and politics are arising within the tribe. Pedro said it was extremely frustrating as he couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone, and it took 3 days before anyone would even take him to a well. We mustn’t forget to always respect other peoples ways. They are not brought up with efficiency, financial training or even time (as we know it). So, patience is a true gift in these circumstances.

So Pedro has been talking with geologists and drillers from one company who are eager to get in touch with the initial company who drilled the other wells. With this union they can work together to see what has already been tried and what did and didn’t work. However, Pedro was unable to discover or find any paper work regarding the initial well drillings. Nothing is documented! Another of Pedro’s frustrations. Some of the wells are producing water and some are dry. (A well that pumps 200 liters per hour is considered dry) But the water is very salty, not as in sea water but it contains a high contents of certain salts which puts limitations on any kind of irrigation and limits the intake as far as drinking water is concerned. There is a well that produces this salty water but it is situated approximately 6km away from the tribe. Over the 2 years or so that is has been producing water the salt content has diminished some, which I believe is a common occurrence. It produces 700 liters per hour which is pretty substantial. We still don’t know who the well belongs to. It is not serving anyone for their pressing need but it is being used to make bricks. Pedro believes that is can be used for food growth if it is pumped and distributed accordingly. They have free electricity for this. The government offered them free electricity if they accepted high voltage power lines to go over their land!!!!

Possible Outlook
We have to stay positive and most importantly believe we can make changes for this incredible tribe. We know and we have seen the beauty that exists within these people. It is pure, heart warming and rare. Never have I experienced others with such pain and yet such strength and love. We must stick together to help them. Remember Diana, well her spirit spoke directly with me and said “they will be helped”. We can do it together.

Pedro discovered that goats can survive in these arid conditions, and he spoke with a man who wanted to start a small business breeding and selling goats. What a great beginning for someone.

Pedro also met a man whose musical talents were incredible and whose passion to keep the music alive amongst the people was deep. So we can provide these people with instruments to lift their souls and spirits at this time.

A store has been opened in Abagania, where the Fulni-o are selling their artisan crafts. There is much politics with the casa, but I believe it will die down and people will start returning to the store, so they will at least be able to pay their rent and eat and hopefully send money home to the tribe in Pernamboca. Aristedes was unable to stay on the sacred land and do ceremony for 3 months, as he realized he needed to continue to raise money for his people. And so we need even more prayers for these people, as now their prayer and annual ceremony for themselves has been put on hold. I pray every day. Do not ever doubt that your prayer heard. It is always answered.

Global Water
I have put in emails and calls to this company. They seem amazing and I am hoping they can help us. They have all the technical knowledge we need under one roof and it will save us doing a ton of research. Let’s all put good vibes towards this organization for a positive response. Pedro has $17,000 of which he hasn’t spent a penny yet. I believe if we put this across to them, they will know we are seriously involved and will consider us.

We still have Alaya, Global Exchange, Green Fest. Massagathon, and much more up our sleeves. The situation is desperate and we have been guided and chosen to help these people. We can do it.

WE HAVE TO.

June, 2003: The Situation

In Need of Water and Security of their Land
The Fulni-o's immediate crisis is the water situation due to a four year drought. They have not received any government assistance due to the fact that they have no minerals, precious or semi-precious stones, trees or resources which would have economic value for the white man.
In about 1958 the Fulni-o donated a small 70 square meter (about 600+ sq. ft.) piece of land in their town to build a church. This unfortunately was right in the middle of their land and attracted white settlers. Now, just over forty years later, there is a town of over 60,000 white people with more coming every day. The white inhabitants have encroached upon the Fulni-o's land mass. The Fulni-o remain victims of their innocence as they still are losing land bit by bit due to the white inhabitants. This expansion is very near their "Aldeia" (their Village).
Their sacred ground is further into their territory and this is where they are working on digging wells. Digging wells on their sacred ground will ensure the tribal ownership, in which every tribe-member would share guardianship of the water, without any one person in particular having control over the wells.

A Fence of Privacy and Protection
The Fulni-o urgently want to build a fence to keep the white man from driving onto their land, where the children play in their natural settings. It is a dangerous situation for the Fulni-o as they are so desperately limited in their resources to fight to maintain their land rights, not to mention the famine that has stricken the 6,000 Fulni-o that are on the reservation. For some time, a group of men and women from the tribe were in constant vigil at the FUNAI (Fundacao National do Indio) so that the Government could not take more of their land. The members who have left their tribal land on one hand were glad that they can sell the arts and crafts made by themselves and other tribe members; this kept them fed with at least one meal a day while many of those on their native land went hungry. The condition where the crafts-makers were staying in the city of Brasilia were terrible. Each family lived in a tiny box-like room witn no windows, a communal bathroom and often no running water.

In June 2003, the practically unbearable situation got worse. The FUNAI began to dissolve, evicting the tribe members from their sub-standard housing to the streets.