MANAUS, Brazil -- October 18, 2001 - Brazil’s Minister of Justice signed a decree that was published yesterday, which permanently sets aside Deni Indian land for their sole occupation and use. The Deni, a group of Amazon Indians, occupy 3,779,100 acres of Amazon rainforest. This victory is the latest chapter in a dramatic struggle between Greenpeace, the Brazilian government, other indigenous organizations, and the Deni Indians themselves.

"After years of broken promises from the Federal Government, the Deni decided to take control of their traditional lands," said Greenpeace campaigner Nilo D’Avila. "Now they have succeeded. We are proud to have played a small part in their great victory."

Over the past month volunteers from Greenpeace and two other organizations have supplied technical and logistical support to the Deni as they marked their most vulnerable borders. The Deni Indians cut 33 miles of trail through thick jungle and 135 miles along the banks of rivers and creeks. According to the Brazilian Constitution, the borders of all Indian lands should have been established by 1993, and the Deni themselves were first promised protection in 1984. Of the 580 Indian territories identified in Brazil, however, only 360 have been formally recognized.

"To our knowledge, this is the first time that a group of Amazon Indians has taken the task of demarcation of their lands into their own hands," said Scott Paul, Greenpeace Forests Campaigner. "We hope this serves as an example for the Brazilian government to fulfill their obligation to protect all Indian lands."

In 1999 Greenpeace first learned that the Malaysian logging giant WTK had purchased 372,970 acres of land that overlapped with the Deni’s traditional territories. Greenpeace went to the area and met with the Deni, who were until that time unaware that their lands had been sold. The Deni asked Greenpeace for help with marking borders of their land and to have their land recognized by the Brazilian Federal Government.

In a letter dated September 30, 2001, 10 Deni leaders pledged to Brazil’s Indian Agency that they were taking the process of protecting their lands into their own hands. On October 9, Brazil’s government accepted the demands of the Deni, and one week later the Minister of Justice signed the decree.