"Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire accuses Bolsonaro of seeking their extermination"

Brazil’s most prominent Indigenous leader, Raoni Metuktire, has stated that former president Jair Bolsonaro’s administration had an intent to “eliminate” the country’s Indigenous communities.

According to the Kayapó chief, the former leader “promoted encroachments, mining, and forest destruction” to transfer Indigenous territories to non-Indigenous groups.

“He truly intended to erase us,” Metuktire says in his newly published memoir, *Memórias do Cacique* (*The Chief’s Memoirs*), now available in Portuguese. The book’s cover shows the leader wearing his traditional lip plate and vivid yellow feather headdress.

“But Indigenous peoples across Brazil stood together against his government,” he adds, emphasizing that “from now on, any president elected in Brazil must acknowledge Indigenous rights.”

Metuktire, 88, gained global attention in the 1980s for his work in defending Indigenous lands and combating environmental damage. Throughout Bolsonaro’s presidency—which saw a surge in Amazon deforestation—he became a frequent critic of the government.

In his memoir, the chief recounts dreaming of Bolsonaro near the end of his term. “I told him in the dream: ‘Just wait, you won’t stay in power. I will remove you,’” he writes.

CuriosityNews reached out to Bolsonaro for comment but received no reply.

In January 2023, Metuktire joined Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the leftist leader’s inauguration, following his victory over Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

In the book, Metuktire recalls warning Lula not to “repeat past errors,” referencing dissatisfaction with previous policies, including the construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River, which disrupted Indigenous territories.

Despite these criticisms, his stance toward Lula remains one of cautious optimism.

The book, yet to be released in English, is based on over 80 hours of conversations with Metuktire’s “grandchildren”—a term covering both relatives and younger community members.

The interviews were conducted in the Mẽbêngôkre language, transcribed, and later translated into Portuguese with assistance from anthropologist Fernando Niemeyer, who led the research.

Niemeyer confirmed Metuktire’s birth year as 1937—previously only estimated due to a lack of records—though the exact date remains unclear.

The chief also revisits his global campaign in the late 1980s, joining musician Sting to raise awareness about deforestation and secure funding for land protection.

Metuktire describes the moment they learned of environmentalist Chico Mendes’s killing by illegal land grabers while visiting Sting’s home.

“After lunch, Sting turned on the television, and the news about Chico Mendes appeared. We were stunned,” he writes.