Brazilian forest guardian killed weeks after joining Amazon summit

Janildo Oliveira Guajajara, a member of the Guardiões da Floresta (Forest Guardians) collective, was reportedly shot dead in the early hours of Saturday near the Araribóia Indigenous territory where he lived.

Carlos Travassos, an Indigenous expert who works with the group in Maranhão state, said he was the sixth Forest Guardian to be murdered since 2016.

Civil police chief César Veloso told local media Guajajara was returning from an Indigenous celebration when he was attacked. His teenage nephew was also shot but survived.

Guajajara was one of dozens of Indigenous activists who gathered in the Araribóia territory in July to exchange tips on rainforest protection.

At the summit, Forest Guardian volunteers described their perilous quest to keep illegal loggers from invading their supposedly protected territory.

Zé Guajajara, whose cousin was murdered in 2019, said he was now too scared to travel to nearby logging towns such as Amarante.

The results have been tragic for the Amazon and its original inhabitants. Since Bolsonaro took power in 2019 deforestation has soared and attacks on Indigenous communities risen.