It is a particularly symbolic nocturnal ceremony. In the middle of the forest in Brazil, Emmanuel Macron decorated chief Raoni Metuktire with the Legion of Honor on Tuesday, a global icon for the defense of the Amazon and the culture of indigenous peoples.
The atmosphere was far from the protocol of decoration ceremonies at the presidential palace of the Elysée in Paris. The atmosphere was cheerful on the island of Combu, near Bélem, the city where Emmanuel Macron began a state visit to Brazil, in the company of his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
At over 90 years old, Raoni does not give up his fight
With his multicolored feather headdress and his lip plate, Raoni, more than 90 years old today, is still as imposing. The head of state therefore elevated the old indigenous leader to the rank of officer of the Legion of Honor and then hugged him. Raoni then took his place between the presidents, both in shirt sleeves and all smiles.
“You have never stopped, you never stop,” said the French president in his tribute to the cacique. Alternating between “you” and “you”, he added: “Yes Raoni, you carried this fight perhaps even further than others (…). Very modestly I wanted to say that we will continue to lead it alongside you.”
“I consider Lula as my brother, Macron as my son,” Raoni confided. “Very concerned that the white man continues to destroy nature,” he urged both leaders to provide “support” for there to be “more indigenous lands” returned to indigenous peoples. Stalled under the mandate of President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), the crucial process of approving territories reserved for indigenous people has resumed under Lula. But they remain threatened by deforestation, the advance of agricultural and mining exploitation and trafficking.
Raoni aims for Nobel Peace Prize
Raoni also called for the support of the two presidents “to win the Nobel Peace Prize”. He is regularly cited as a possible winner of the prestigious award. A message received by Lula: “I can tell you, comrade Raoni, that there is no one on planet Earth who deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize more than you”.
The leader of the Kayapo people was at Lula’s side for his inauguration ceremony upon his return to power last year. In 1989, with the help of British singer Sting, Raoni left Brazil for the first time and appealed for help in 17 countries. Since then, he has continued to defend, to those in power, the survival of indigenous peoples threatened by deforestation. Accused by Jair Bolsonaro of being in the pay of foreign powers, the cacique in turn denounced him to the International Criminal Court for “crimes against humanity”, accusing him of “persecuting” indigenous peoples by destroying their habitat and violating their fundamental rights.