Of Brazil’s more than 8 million square kilometers, approximately 14% are identified as Indigenous lands, either already demarcated or in the process of being recognized. However, it is important to highlight that most of the biodiversity, water, minerals, and wildlife—recognized by science or not—are protected by Indigenous Peoples, the guardians of forests, fields, and rivers. Brazil is home to more than 300 Indigenous Peoples, and about 270 native languages are spoken, reflecting vast cultural and linguistic diversity. Indigenous lands go beyond maps or borders: they are territories of life, historical and ancestral, pillars of the physical and spiritual existence of the peoples that today the Brazilian State, and the world, calls Indigenous Peoples.
The relationship of Indigenous Peoples with the environment is not one of domination, but of reciprocity, care, and belonging. This worldview is the key to solving the global climate, food, and water crises. It is also the reason why Indigenous Peoples, not only in Brazil, but around the world, occupy a central role in the debates at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP30 to be held in Belém, Pará, November 10-21, 2025.
The UN Climate Conference is not the only forum recognizing the importance of Indigenous Peoples, but it is at this historic moment that Indigenous Peoples’ participation needs to transform into full recognition of the diversity of Indigenous identities, concrete resources of the prosperity and abundance of the world, and effective decision-making power of democratic strength and self-determination.
The maxim spread in the streets, “Brazil is Indigenous land,” is not a metaphor, but a historical, political, ecological, and social truth. In this special edition, we cover the themes, challenges, and opportunities of this Indigenous Brazil, considering three distinct realities of these Peoples: the invisible guardians, the warriors on the frontlines, and those who are often forgotten, typically left out of Indigenous public policies and only recently included in the Brazilian census—urban Indigenous Brazil.
The Invisible Guardians: Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact
According to the International Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Early Contact, throughout the Amazon at least 189 groups and Peoples are living in voluntary isolation or initial contact. Yet, only 60 are recognized by the State. These Peoples, referred to as PIACI, are the most vulnerable human communities on Earth. They have chosen to live far from state interference and industrial and capitalist society, maintaining a relationship of total dependence on the land. However, they are under serious threat.
Illegal mining, deforestation, and violent incursions by criminal groups, religious missions, and urban development projects have violated their territories. Despite constitutional protections in Brazil, many of their lands remain undemarcated, and because they are invisible to the State, enforcement is weak or nonexistent. These Peoples have no voice in climate forums—but recognizing their existence, their right to live there, and protecting their territories are powerful forms of climate action. Their lands are vast carbon sinks, biodiversity sanctuaries, and living examples of the balance between humans and nature. At COP30, Brazil and the international community must recognize the protection of the PIACI as a human rights obligation and a climate imperative.
The Frontline Defenders: Demarcated Territories, Territories of Life
A large portion of Brazil’s recognized Indigenous Peoples live in territories already claimed or demarcated, or at least in the process of studying and formalizing their lands. These lands—often secured through decades of struggle— are more than political spaces. They are systems of governance, spirituality, and ecological intelligence; they are territories of life. Here, communities manage agroforests, protect water sources, preserve seeds, and transmit ancestral knowledge.
But life in these territories is under siege. Invasions by land grabbers, illegal loggers, and gold miners are common, and the presence and impact of medium- and large-scale mining and agribusiness have posed an incalculable threat to the environment and human health for decades. Government negligence, legal setbacks, and climate impacts, from droughts to extreme heat, compound the problem. Even so, these communities are leading the way. Many have developed Territorial and Environmental Management Plans, offer proven conservation models, and demand direct access to climate finance to strengthen their autonomy. These territories are not just protected areas—they are living climate solutions.
Indigenous Peoples in Urban Contexts and Peoples on the Move
The 2022 census revealed something striking: the Indigenous population is more urban than rural—approximately 53.97% live in urban areas. This number could increase if we consider populations on the move and migration due to violence and environmental impacts. More than a third of these people live outside officially recognized territories. These communities are often rendered invisible by the State, their identities are questioned, and their rights denied. Yet, they are deeply engaged in the struggle for recognition and land. They are a bulwark against the criminal legacy of colonization.
Urban Indigenous Peoples are artists, educators, politicians, healers, lawyers, and activists, rebuilding territorial connections through cultural centers, legal advocacy, and storytelling. They remind us that territory is not just geography—it is memory, language, ritual, and belonging. Their struggle expands the definition of what counts as Indigenous land and who counts as Indigenous. All of Brazil is Indigenous land.
The Climate Struggle and the Legal Threat
What unites these three realities is not only a shared history of resistance, but a shared vision: that life is sacred, the earth is alive, and justice must be territorial. Reforestation and land reclamation stand as their core demands, but their demands go beyond inclusion—they seek a transformation in how we relate to the planet.
However, while Indigenous Peoples continue to present clear, rights-based solutions, the Brazilian State remains immersed in legal battles that threaten its existence. One of the most alarming is the Marco Temporal (Time Frame), a legal argument that claims Indigenous Peoples have rights only to the lands they physically occupied in 1988— ignoring histories of displacement, violence, and forced removal. Although recently rejected by the Supreme Federal Court, the concept continues to reappear in legislative proposals that could be even more catastrophic, such as the Devastation Bill (2159/21), undermining constitutional rights and leaving Indigenous communities vulnerable and the environment exposed to exploitation and destruction. Stronger legal mechanisms are urgently needed not only to guarantee land rights, but to enforce them, protect defenders, and ensure the full implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in all decisions affecting Indigenous territories.
At the same time, we must reject false climate solutions that treat Indigenous territories as mere carbon reserves or mineral banks. From REDD+ schemes that ignore communities to so-called “green” mining projects created to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for technology that devastate lands while claiming sustainability, these models exploit Indigenous knowledge and resources without recognizing Indigenous sovereignty. The promises of the Just Transition have left forest communities behind in negotiations for a cleaner, safer world. The consequences are all too familiar: wealth and resources are extracted, waste is left behind, rivers are contaminated, and communities are abandoned and concentrated in wealthy countries, especially Europe and the United States, while poverty and inequality exist in formerly colonized countries.
These are not just environmental crimes. They are extensions of colonial patterns that continue to sacrifice Indigenous life in pursuit of short-term profit. If COP30 means anything, it must be the moment we end this hypocrisy and align climate finance, governance, and policies with justice and self-determination. Brazil is Indigenous land. It is time for the climate regime to recognize who truly speaks for it.
Top photo: Pataxó and Pankararu Peoples prepare a spiritual ceremony with shamans and Encantados (sacred entities). This ritual serves as preparation, invocation, purification, and welcoming of visitors. Cinta Vermelha Indigenous Land, Jequitinhonha Valley, Brazil.
Photo by CS Staff.
