LETTER FROM RIO DE JANEIRO
It is a pretty gilded palace, with Chantilly-colored moldings and irreparably closed doors. It has been a long time since no visitor has been able to cross the door of the Indian Museum, located in the heart of the Botafogo district, in Rio de Janeiro. And for good reason: the places have been closed for four years already, victims of administrative problems, of the Covid-19, but also of President Jair Bolsonaro’s policy towards indigenous peoples.
Officially, however, it is only a question of simple but interminable renovations, necessary in order to restore the fire safety of the premises, dating from the 19th century.e century. Inaugurated in 1953, the fragile museum is much more than an exhibition space, it is also the guardian of the memory of the indigenous peoples of Brazil: its archives house more than 32,000 pieces and ethnographic publications, giving an account of life of the 817,000 indigenous people of Brazil. A fund of inestimable value.
But will this beautiful museum ever reopen its doors? ” I am extremely concerned for its future ”, worries its former director José Carlos Levinho. He was brutally dismissed from his post on October 15, 2019. “I learned of my dismissal at Official newspaper “, explains this warm sixty-year-old who, after twenty-four years in his post, had less than twenty-four hours to pack his boxes and leave his office – not without having shed a few tears.
“I have dedicated my life to this museum, which is the only one in Brazil totally dedicated to indigenous peoples”, describes Mr. Levinho. This historically serves as a showcase for the National Indian Foundation (Funai), a public body administering the site, very officially responsible for “Protect and promote rights” of the natives of Brazil and who celebrated – sadly – his 53e birthday, December 5.
Jair Bolsonaro had threatened the Funai with a “blow to the neck”
The closure of the Rio museum is, in reality, the symbolic reflection of the state of this institution, created in 1976 under the military dictatorship and which was, during the 1980s and 1990s, with the return of democracy, the spearhead respect for the rights of indigenous peoples, responsible for education, health and, above all, the demarcation of indigenous lands (now covering 13% of the territory). But pounded, suffocated, diverted from its objectives by Jair Bolsonaro, “ Funai is being transformed into an agency against Indians! “, alert Mr. Levinho.
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