Juma Xipaia has been defending her people’s land in the Brazilian Amazon since she was 13, when her eyes were opened to the impacts of the planned construction of the nearby Belo Monte hydroelectric dam complex on her village. Located on the Xingu River, Belo Monte, which began operations in 2016, displaced an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 people and eventually diverted 85 percent of the river’s normal water flow away from thousands of Indigenous and traditional fishing communities.
Almost a decade after she realized she needed to take a stand, Xipaia — a member of the Xipaya Indigenous group, which has 173 people living on its traditional territory and many others spread across the region in other communities — became chief of her village. Juma Xipaia, now 30 years old, was the first woman to head an Indigenous group on the middle reaches of the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon.
Xipaia has faced a host of challenges, including illegal incursions by heavily armed miners and loggers on Xipaya territory, which covers nearly 700 square miles. Widespread illegal gold mining has led to mercury pollution of Xipaya rivers. As she has fought to protect the Xipaya and other Indigenous groups, and has battled corruption among some of her fellow Indigenous leaders, Xipaia has faced death threats. Through it all, she has continued studying to be a physician and was one of 40 Indigenous leaders to represent Brazil at the COP26 climate change conference in Scotland last year.
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https://e360.yale.edu/features/an-amazon-defender-stands-up-for-her-land-and-her-people