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Supporting Xavante Autonomy: The Critical Role of German Partnership in Amazon Defence

The protection of TI Pimentel Barbosa, home to the Xavante people and one of the Amazon’s most threatened territories, would not be possible without sustained commitment from German funders and partners.

Over the past year, Treesistance has worked alongside the Xavante to strengthen their own territorial defence capacity, training and equipping a Guardian group of 30 representatives from 29 villages to monitor their land, document incursions, and advance their right to self-determination. This is not external conservation work. It is Indigenous-led territorial autonomy in action.

The stakes are urgent. TI Pimentel Barbosa faces mounting pressure from adjacent infrastructure projects, mining expansion, deforestation, and illegal resource extraction. The Xavante, like Indigenous peoples across the Amazon, are on the frontlines of one of the world’s most critical ecosystems and they are the most effective protectors of it.

German support has been central to this work. It reflects a commitment to backing Indigenous autonomy, environmental protection, and justice in a way that respects Xavante leadership and decision-making. That partnership – practical, respectful, sustained, makes the difference between intention and real capacity on the ground.

We are grateful for this support and for the shared understanding that the Amazon’s future depends on Indigenous peoples having the resources and recognition to lead their own territorial defence.