“A Amazônia é nossa!” Struggling for Land and Resources in Western Amazonia

• In Event: ¿Nuestra Amazonía?: Mediated Claims to Ownership and Belonging in Amazonian Studies

Abstract

The ownership of land and resources in much of Amazonia has long been legally murky and difficult to define. During the latter half of the twentieth century in Western Amazonia, the ambiguous status of territorial ownership or belonging became a source of contention and violent conflict. A complicating factor in the situation was the absence of communication infrastructure as well as a lack of education and information for much of the rural population. Rural forest dwellers, mostly workers in Brazil nut and rubber production, lived in far-flung and isolated settlements. As these communities began organizing formulating claims over territory, they needed to craft a narrative justifying their claims as well as find ways to communicate their message both amongst their own geographically dispersed communities and to a wider public including potential sympathizers and government authorities. Forest workers sought, often with the assistance and mediation of the Catholic Church and labor unions, to use media such as radio, newspapers, and pamphlets to accomplish these goals. “A Amazônia é nossa!” “The Amazon is ours!” reads the cover of a pamphlet describing territory and resource demands, written and distributed by the National Rubber Tappers Council. This paper analyzes the creation and use of print and radio media as part of a major decades-long political and economic fight over the ownership, use, destruction, and protection of Amazon rainforest.

Author

• Kathryn A Lehman, Indiana University