Stories of Resistance: How Indigenous peoples in Brazil fought COVID-19

Back to the Earth

In the early days of COVID, when the disease spreads like wildfire 

And ICU units overflow capacity

There are few places as bad as Brazil

And the Amazon is ground zero 

A sign of just how scary it can get

And what awaits everyone else

Mass graves in Manaus

Hospitals at capacity

Oxygen running out

Cases spiking 

The death count rising

Particularly among Indigenous populations

And president Jair Bolsonaro laughs off the virus

He tells cameras it was just a little cold

That he is strong and won’t catch it (even though he does)

He fights with governors

And attacks lockdowns

And refuses to wear masks

And pushes unproven drugs

And his government turns its back on Indigenous communities

Bolsonaro’s administration pulls officials working to protect native lands

And health workers who cared for their peoples

And left Indigenous territories stranded, like islands in a sea of unknown and fear

But the country’s Indigenous peoples are used to having backs turned against them.

And they take action.

They set up roadblocks in the entrances into their territories. 

They test temperatures 

And spray alcohol 

And distribute masks

And block unwanted visitors

And stand tall against the disease

Which they know can ravage their peoples

And when COVID does spread to their lands

Like it does everywhere

They turn to their ancestral medicine

Their native plants

They share their knowledge with other neighboring tribes. 

That’s what Indigenous leader Almerinda Ramos de Lima saw 

in the farthest reaches of Brazil. 

in the Upper Rio Negro, 

near the Colombian Border.

“They didn’t wait for exams. They didn’t wait for doctors to arrive,” she says.

“Each community organized 

and shared the traditional medicines that they were preparing.”

“Where we have forests, 

where we have plants, 

we have traditional medicine,” she says. 

“We have our cure inside the forest.”

Historic Indigenous leaders still fell. 

Chief Aritana Yawalapiti, who led his Xingu people for five decades. 

Paulinho Paiakan, of the Kayapó.

Artist and healer Vovó Bernaldina… from the Macuxi tribe in the Raposa Serra do Sol territory. 

Reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom. Heartbreaking losses. 

But their people sang. 

And danced their tribal dances. 

And honored their loved ones and their elders.

And new leaders have risen. 

Fighting to protect their lands, their communities and their way of life.

Now and forever.

Hi folks. thanks for listening. This is the fourth episode of Stories of Resistance. This is a new project co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. I’m your host, writer, and producer, Michael Fox. I’m a longtime journalist based in Latin America. Each week, I’ll bring you stories of resistance and hope like this. Inspiration for dark times. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment or leave a review. 

I’ve also just launched a Kickstarter to help get this podcast series off the ground and up and running. I’ll add a link in the show notes.

As always, thanks for listening. I hope you like the stories. 

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This is the fourth episode of Stories of Resistance.

Stories of Resistance is a new project, co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review.

We’ve recently launched a Kickstarter to help get the series off the ground. You can support it by clicking here: Stories of Resistance: Inspiration for Dark Times Kickstarter

Written and produced by Michael Fox.

This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.