Brazil’s Supreme Court is preparing to decide a high-stakes clash between Amazon settlers and indigenous groups that has not been limited to the courtroom. At issue is Raposa Serra do Sol, a 4.2-million-acre (1.7-million-ha) indigenous reserve that the Brazilian government created three years ago in northeastern Roraima state. In establishing the reserve, the government ordered some 600 non-indigenous farmers and settlers occupying 741,000 acres (300,000 has) of the protected area to leave. (See “Forced relocation puts Brasília, Roraima at odds”—EcoAméricas, May ’05). Most did not, even despite government offers to indemnify them for investments and resettle them just south of Raposa Serra do Sol. Defiance by these 400 remaining settlers—in particular cattle ranchers and 16 large rice... [Log in to read more]