Authorities in Brazil look into violent attack on indigenous village

Wednesday, May 3, 2017  

The Indigenous Missionary Council posted an image of what it said were a group of Gamela people prior to an attack on one of their villages in Brazil on April 30, 2017. Photo: Indigenous Missionary Council

As many as 13 people, including an indigenous leader, were injured in a violent attack that's being blamed on farmers in Brazil.

According to the Indigenous Missionary Council, the farmers were armed with rifles and machetes. They shot and wounded several residents of the Gamela village, including the tribe's leader, on Sunday.

Local and national authorities have confirmed that an incident occurred but some are disputing the extent of the injuries. In a Portuguese language post on Facebook, the governor of the Maranhao state said only 7 people were hurt and that no one's hands were severed, as the missionary group claimed.

Indígenas Gamela tiveram membros do corpo decepados durante ataque no MA; sobe o número de baleados e feridos https://t.co/WUNBQxO08r pic.twitter.com/K52GIQ9Ed7

— Cimi (@ciminacional) May 1, 2017

"All victims of violence, whether indigenous or not, have our solidarity. And all the violence is being verified by the police," governor Flávio Dino said on Monday.

The Fundação Nacional do Índio, or FUNAI, an agency comparable to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S., has sent a team to the region to investigate, according to the Istoé news magazine.

The Gamela people have been asserting their land rights by staging protests and occupations in the area.

Read More on the Story:
Brazil State Says No Hands Severed in Indigenous Tribe's Clash With Farmers (Reuters 5/2)
Amazon attack: Gamela tribe shot, stabbed and mutilated (BBC 5/2)
Brazilian Ranchers Brutally Attack Indigenous Land Rights Activists, Reports Say (TIME 5/2)
Funai cria grupo de trabalho para investigar ataque a índios Gamela no Maranhão (ISTOE 5/2)
Brazil Indigenous Attacked, Hands Severed in Land Dispute: Advocates (Reuters 5/1)
Read More on the Story:
Brazilian farmers attack indigenous tribe with machetes in brutal land dispute (The Guardian 5/1)