The indigenous Indians burn a giant coffin in protest of the vital decision of the land

BRAZIL, Aug. 27 (Reuters) – A group of about 150 indigenous people protested in front of Brazil’s presidential palace on Friday and set fire to a giant coffin that had been carried in a demonstration ahead of a decisive court ruling Supreme over their ancestral lands.

The group was a small part of the approximately 6,000 indigenous people from 176 tribes who have descended on the capital to denounce a proposal that set a 1988 deadline for their land claims.

A strong wind of black smoke came out of the coffin in flames in front of the palace, as protesters, many in traditional costumes, shouted and sang as soldiers stood guard nearby.

Originally scheduled for earlier this week, the Supreme Court on Thursday pushed the ruling to next week, saying it would meet again Wednesday to take up the case.

The ruling will affect hundreds of pending land claims, many of which offer a bulwark against deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Most have been waiting for recognition for decades.

The case reached the Supreme Court on an appeal from the Xokleng people, expelled from their lands in the southern state of Santa Catarina more than a century ago. The Xokleng have challenged what they call the overly narrow interpretation of the indigenous rights state, recognizing only land occupied by native communities when Brazil’s constitution was ratified in 1988.

A judicial defeat for the Xokleng could set a precedent for the dramatic decline in indigenous rights advocated by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. He says few live on too much land, blocking agricultural expansion.

Powerful agricultural interests would have firmer legal ground to challenge Indigenous land claims and Congress would have the green light to write a restrictive definition of Indigenous land in federal law.

Report by Amanda Perobelli Written by Stephen Eisenhammer Edited by Marguerita Choy

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