Questões de Inglês - Reading/Writing

Essential reading on, and beyond, Indigenous Peoples Day

Formerly known as Columbus Day, today is Indigenous Peoples Day in more than 80 (and counting)
cities, counties and states. While official recognition of this day began in the late ‘70s, with the UN
discussing the replacement of Columbus Day, resistance and challenge to said “holiday” existed in
the hearts and minds of indigenous and native peoples long before cities or states began to observe
[5] Indigenous Peoples Day.

As land defenders − people who are working for indigenous territories to be protected from
contamination and exploitation − we see Indigenous Peoples Day as progress; it signals a crucial
shift in our culture to recognize the dark past of colonization. No longer are our communities,
towns, cities and states remaining silent and complacent in celebrating the cultural genocide that
[10] ensued after Christopher Columbus landed on Turtle Island (a.k.a. North America). Today also
means that the erasure of our narrative as indigenous peoples is ending and our truths are rising
to the surface. These truths include: Christopher Columbus was not a hero; he was a murderer.
The land we all exist on is stolen. The history we’ve been taught is not accurate or complete. And
perhaps most important among those truths, indigenous lands are still being colonized, and our
[15] people are still suffering the trauma and impacts of colonization.

Across the country, we continue to see the violation of our rights and treaties as extractive projects
are proposed and constructed. Across the nation, we continue to grieve our missing and murdered
indigenous women, victims of violence brought to their communities by extractive oil and mining
projects. We continue to bear the brunt of climate change as our food sovereignty is threatened
[20] by dying ecosystems and as our animal relatives are becoming extinct due to land loss, warmer
seasons and/or contamination. And now, we are fighting for the very right to resist as anti-protest
laws emerge across the country, which aim to criminalize our people for protecting what is most
sacred to us.

Yet, despite these challenges, our people and communities are demonstrating incredible bravery
[25] and innovation to bring forth healing and justice. Through the tireless work of indigenous
organizers, activists, knowledge keepers and artists, we are learning about what is working and
what our movements need more of to dismantle systems like white supremacy and systemic racism
that colonization has imposed on our communities.

So while we could dive into the stories of how our people are still being attacked by the many forms
[30] of colonization, we find it important on this day, a day that symbolizes progress and evolution,
to acknowledge what is working in our communities and in our movements. All too often, our
people are framed as victims, and while there’s truth in those narratives, it’s also critical, for our
self-actualization as indigenous peoples, to have our strengths, our resilience and our creativity
seen and honored. 

JADE BEGAY AND DALLAS GOLDTOOTH sierraclub.org, 08/10/2018

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When will the Amazon hit a tipping point?

    Scientists say climate change, deforestation and fires could cause the world’s largest rainforest to dry out. The big question is how soon that might happen. Seen from a monitoring tower above the treetops near Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, the rainforest canopy stretches to the horizon as an endless sea of green. It looks like a rich and healthy ecosystem, but appearances are deceiving. This rainforest — which holds 16,000 separate tree species — is slowly drying out.
    Over the past century, the average temperature in the forest has risen by 1-1.5 °C. In some parts, the dry season has expanded during the past 50 years, from four months to almost five. Severe droughts have hit three times since 2005. That’s all driving a shift in vegetation. In 2018, a study reported that trees that do best in moist conditions, such as tropical legumes from the genus Inga, are dying. Those adapted to drier climes, such as the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa), are thriving.
    At the same time, large parts of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, are being cut down and burnt. Tree clearing has already shrunk the forest by around 15% from its 1970s extent of more than 6 million square kilometres; in Brazil, which contains more than half the forest, more than 19% has disappeared. Last year, deforestation in Brazil spiked by around 30% to almost 10,000 km², the largest loss in a decade. And in August 2019, videos of wildfires in the Amazon made international headlines. The number of fires that month was the highest for any August since an extreme drought in 2010.

(www.nature.com, 25.02.2020. Adaptado.)