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The Federal Public Ministry in Acre (MPF-AC) recommended the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the Federal Police (PF) to adopt measures to remove possible invaders from the Indigenous Land (TI) Campinas/Katukina, belonging to the Noke Koi people, in Cruzeiro do Sul, in the interior of Acre.
Originally from Acre, the Noke Koi people are made up of around 895 indigenous people/Photo: Reproduction
The recommendation was signed by Public Prosecutor Luidgi Merlo Paiva dos Santos and establishes a period of 30 days for the agencies to carry out inspections on site, with the aim of identifying and destroying illegal structures built within the indigenous area. If people are found occupying the territory, the PF must prosecute environmental crimes and invasion of traditional land.
According to a complaint forwarded to the MPF by the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the Juruá River (OPIRJ), the invaders were using areas of virgin forest to create pastures and plant grass to feed livestock.
The document also highlights that Ibama had already arrested suspects in July this year, but there is still evidence that the occupants remained at the location. The MPF determined that Ibama and the PF inform, within 10 days, whether they will comply with the recommendation and what measures will be taken if the invaders do not comply.
Conflict history
The Campinas/Katukina TI region has been the scene of disputes and tensions. In April 2024, works on the energy “line” between Rio Branco and Cruzeiro do Sul were resumed after demonstrations by the Noke Koi people. A month earlier, a visit by representatives from the MPF, Ibama and Idaf to the area resulted in an impasse, when the employees were prevented from leaving the indigenous land. At the time, chief Edilson Rosas Noke Koi denied any act of retention, stating that the group was only seeking to resolve pending issues related to works in the region.
O Povo for Koke
Originally from Acre, the Noke Koi people are made up of around 895 indigenous people, distributed across seven villages located in the Campinas/Katukina lands, in Cruzeiro do Sul, and Rio Gregório, in Tarauacá. The areas were demarcated in 1984 and approved in 1993 by the Federal Government.
The Noke Koi develop agroforestry systems and sustainable management, with the main sources of income being the production of handicrafts, corn, rice and flour, in addition to holding traditional festivities, which mark the culture and identity of the people.
