The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode suffer greatly from the theft of their land – although the Paraguayan constitution guarantees Indian land ownership, the Ayoreo’s land has almost all been taken over by ranchers, forcing them out of their forest and making it very difficult for them to support themselves.
Many of the Indians’ relatives continue to live uncontacted in the forest. Unless this area is quickly secured and transferred to them, much of it will be destroyed.
Please write to the President of Paraguay and the President of INDI, the Paraguayan government’s Indian affairs department, to urge them to title the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode’s remaining lands to them without delay.
You can use this sample text or write your own:
I am extremely concerned to learn that several of the Brazilian companies who own land within the ancestral territory of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians in the Chaco have been clearing it illegally. This is in flagrant violation of injunctions which prohibit any such work in the area.
The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode have been claiming a small part of their ancestral territory since 1993, but have still only recovered a fraction of it. Some members of the tribe are still uncontacted, and their survival is seriously at risk as more and more of the forest where they live is being destroyed.
The deforestation is also in clear violation of Paraguay’s laws and Constitution, which explicitly recognise the right of the indigenous population to the ownership of their traditional lands.
I urge you to ensure that the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode’s land is titled to them without delay.
Presidente de la República del Paraguay
Paraguayo Independiente c/ Ayolas
Asunción
Paraguay
Fax: + 595 21 493 910
Email: secretariadecomunicaciones@presidencia.gov.py
Begin: 'Your Excellency'
