Brazilian Yanomami Indians have announced they will present Oscar winners with an alternative statuette on Sunday, as a symbol of the fight against illegal gold mining in the Amazon.
The Yanomami Urihi association reported that it will give the winners of the highest film award -made of solid bronze and covered in 24-carat gold- a figure of Omama, the god of the community, made without metal.
“In their culture, gold is synonymous with success. For my people, for the jungle and for the creatures that remain in the Amazon, it means death and destruction,” said the leader of the Yanomami Urihi association, Junior Hekurari Yanomami, in a video released on Friday by the advertising agency DM9 and sent about 20 Oscar nominees.
Nominees include Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser, Ana de Armas, and Cate Blanchett.
Illegal mining has caused a humanitarian crisis in this community of 30,400 inhabitants, located in a 96,000 square kilometer reserve between the states of Roraima and Amazonas, in northern Brazil.
The video is part of the “Cost of Gold” campaign, which aims to use the Hollywood spotlight to raise awareness of the problem on a global scale.
“Gold is extracted with mercury and more and more liters are poured into our rivers, destroying our animals, our forests and our people,” warned Junior Hekurari.
“You have the opportunity to stand in front of millions of people and ask the world to end illegal gold,” he added, addressing the actors directly.
In 2021, around 54% of the gold traded in Brazil showed signs of illegal origin, according to the Yanomami Association.
Illegal logging increased particularly during the term of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), a supporter of opening indigenous lands to this activity.
In addition, the average annual deforestation has increased by 59.5% in the last four years.
At the end of January, the current government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a state of health emergency in the Yanomami lands, due to the serious conditions of malnutrition and diseases that affect a large part of this people.
The humanitarian crisis is partly due to the toxic products used by miners, such as mercury.
Lula da Silva also authorized a joint operation by the armed forces and other institutions to expel the invaders from the Venezuelan border territory.
However, the Brazilian presidency announced, on Friday, that Lula da Silva will participate, on Monday, in the 52nd General Assembly of Indigenous Peoples, in Roraima, along with nearly two thousand Roraima leaders, including representatives of the Yanomami, Wai Wai, Yekuana, Wapichana, Macuxi, Sapará, Ingaricó, Taurepang and Patamona.
This meeting aims to “deepen the discussions on the protection of the land, the management of natural resources and the agenda of the indigenous movement for 2023,” said the Brazilian presidency.
Source: TSF
