From Rondônia to Glasgow: who is the indigenous girl who spoke at COP26

The young indigenous Txai Suruí, 24, left Rondônia and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, to address world leaders at COP26, the 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change, this Monday (1).

At the same plenary where British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, UN Chief António Guterrres and other world authorities spoke, Txai called for immediate action on the climate. She opened her speech remembering her father, the chief Almir Suruí.

“My name is Txai Suruí, I’m only 24, but my people have lived for at least 6,000 years in the Amazon rainforest. My father, the great chief Almir Suruí, taught me that we must listen to the stars, the moon, the wind, animals and trees.”

According to her, the Earth is showing signs that favorable changes to the climate are fundamental. “The Earth is talking. She tells us that we don’t have any more time. We need to take another path with bold and global changes. It’s not 2030 or 2050, it’s now”, said the young woman. Txai is a law student and founded the Indigenous Youth Movement in Rondônia.

People’s activist Paiter Suruí revealed to world leaders that her friend, indigenous leader Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, was killed in April 2020.

“While you are closing your eyes to reality, the forest keeper Ari Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau, my childhood friend, was murdered for protecting nature,” says Txai at the COP26 plenary.

Ari was found dead on Line 625 in Tarilândia, Jarucom district, Rondônia, with signs of beating on the eve of the Indian Day, celebrated on April 19th. He was part of a surveillance group to monitor and denounce encroachments on the Uru-eu-wau-wau indigenous land.

Ari and his cousin Awapy were already suffering death threats from land grabbers who co-opt land in the region.

In his speech, Txai stated that indigenous peoples are “at the forefront of the climate emergency, so we must be at the center of the decisions that take place here.”

In October, the young woman became a counselor of the World Wide Fund For Nature in Brazil (WWF Brazil).

“We have ideas to postpone the end of the world”, said the young woman – evoking the book by indigenous leader Ailton Krenak, “Ideas to postpone the end of the world” (Cia das Letras). The work criticizes the idea of ​​humanity as something separate from nature and reflects on the environment.

“We will curb the issuing of false and irresponsible promises; let’s end the pollution of empty words, and let’s fight for a liveable future and present. It is always necessary to believe that the dream is possible”, concluded Txai in his speech at COP26.

Chief Almir Suruí and the Paiter Suruí Indigenous People

Almir Narayamoga Suruí was elected chief general of the Paiter Suruí people in September and has a wide participation in debates on the preservation of the environment, including in international events.

He lives in the Sete de Setembro indigenous land, in Cacoal, in the state of Rondônia.

On social networks, Almir appears alongside politicians and environmental advocates in several countries. He and his daughter are against the Temporal Framework on indigenous lands.

In May, Almir Suruí was summoned to testify in an inquiry opened by the Federal Police (PF) due to internet disclosures that, according to the National Indian Foundation (Funai), defamed the federal government.

At the time, Sonia Guajajara, from the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Apib), was also summoned to testify on the same charge. The subpoenas were requested by the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities, of the Chamber of Deputies, and considered an abuse of authority. The inquiry, however, was shelved.