Hundreds of Indigenous women protesting Xingu River gold mine

“We want Belo Sun gone from here,” says Sol Juruma, an Indigenous woman. “We are afraid of the pollution, of the chemicals they will use, of the toxins.” She fears that mining and the vast tailings ponds planned for the riverbank will contaminate the waters of the Xingu, the fourth-largest tributary of the Amazon.

Hundreds of Indigenous women from different peoples of the middle Xingu River region in Brazil – including the Arara, Juruna, Kuruaya, Xikrin, and Xipaya – have set up a protest camp outside the regional office of FUNAI, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples, in Altamira, Pará. They are demanding the revocation of a mining permit granted to the Canadian company Belo Sun Ltda.

Belo Sun plans to mine gold along the Xingu River. If the project goes ahead, the largest open-pit gold mine in Brazil would be carved into the Amazon rainforest. 620 million tons of soil and rock would be blasted and excavated from the rainforest floor to extract a few tons of gold. The consequences would be devastating for the environment, for public safety, and for the way of life of local communities.

The leaders say that the Indigenous peoples of the region were neither consulted by the authorities about the project nor gave their consent, as required by International Labor Organization Convention 169. The mining permit was also not issued, as is usually the case, by the federal environmental agency IBAMA, but by the environmental secretariat of the state of Pará.

They are also demanding an investigation into the energy company Norte Energia S.A. in connection with the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam for failing to comply with mitigation measures. They point to the impacts of the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant (11,000 MW), whose operation has largely dried up a 100-kilometer stretch of the Xingu River. Instead, the river’s water is diverted through a canal directly to the plant’s turbines. The river is vital to local residents for fishing, transport, and spiritual life. The hydroelectric plant, too, was built against their will and through the use of violence.

The women at the protest camp also point out that FUNAI’s office in Altamira has no local leadership. As a result, Indigenous peoples are even less protected from mining companies and other extractive activities in the region. They have put forward a staffing recommendation, but it has still not been acted on.

Rainforest Rescue supports the struggle of the people along the Xingu against mining and for recognition of their right to self-determination, their land rights, and their right to live in a healthy environment. For five years, we have been funding the work of our partner organization Xingu Vivo in Altamira.

We call on FUNAI, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, and the Brazilian government to respond without delay to the demands of the Indigenous women fighting for their rights.

Since February 23, 2026, the women have remained in Altamira, far from their villages, enduring blazing equatorial sun and tropical downpours. To keep the camp going, they urgently need support for:

• food
• blankets, mats, tents
• hygiene supplies
• health care
• transport

Rainforest Rescue is supporting the Indigenous women’s protest and camp through our emergency relief fund. Stand with them now. Help keep their camp going with a donation.

1. Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil - APIB, 2/27/2026. CARTA-MANIFESTO E PAUTA DE REIVINDICAÇÕES DO MOVIMENTO DAS MULHERES INDÍGENAS DO MÉDIO-XINGU: https://apiboficial.org/2026/02/27/carta-manifesto-e-pauta-de-reivindicacoes-do-movimento-das-mulheres-indigenas-do-medio-xingu/ 

2. Sumaúma, 12/18/2024. ‘DIVIDE AND CONQUER’ – BELO SUN’S TACTICS CAUSE CONSTERNATION ALONG XINGU RIVER: https://insustentaveis.sumauma.com/en/divide-and-conquer-belo-suns-tactics-cause-consternation-along-xingu-river/.