The history of hydrodams in the Amazon is riddled with corruption, human rights abuse and destruction.
One hydrodam was built on the site the Munduruku believe their good spirits go when they die - their heaven. Seven waterfalls on the Teles Pires River were blown up and replaced by a hydrodam that was then given the same name.
As you can imagine, the destruction of a sacred site in order to construct a hydrodam is devastating for the Munduruku, just like it would be for many of us if Cape Reinga was destroyed.
This type of careless disregard for indigenous groups is also clear when we look at the effects of the Belo Monte hydrodam on the Xingu River, a dam of similar size that’s close to the SLT hyrdodam planned for the Tapajós River.
As a result of the Belo Monte dam, tens of thousands of people have displaced from their homes, including traditional river communities and indigenous peoples.
Indigenous life in the most affected areas has been turned on its head thanks to huge die-offs in the fish populations, which has stripped surrounding communities of the ability to survive as they have done for centuries.
The local town of Altamira has turned into a cesspool of violence, drugs and prostitution. Illegal logging in the area has exponentially increased, and international gold mining companies are also moving in.
Human rights organisations are calling it ethnocide. We cannot let history repeat. The SLT dam must not happen.
The Munduruku believe that everything was once Munduruku: Every tree and every being. But, the story goes, that some spirits were too greedy and so their god, Karusakaibu, removed them from the abundant forest.
Karusakaibu warned those who remained that one day the greedy presence, called pariwat, would be led back to the forest. He prophesised that it would come from another continent – Europe.
And now we are here.
And here the Munduruku are, proudly defending the forest, the river and their right to survive. They live hand-in-hand with nature and are asking us to fight hand-in-hand with them.
The fight to stop the SLT hyrdodam is about much more than just one hydrodam. It's a fight against the huge hydroway that would follow. It's a fight for indigenous rights. It's a fight against greed and corruption. It's a fight for one of the most unique and important ecosystems on our planet.
It is fight we must win.
Please stand with us and sign and share the petition. Talk to your friends and family about why it’s important. Tell them to pass it on too. Because Brazil doesn't need these hydro dams, but the Munduruku need the Amazon - we all do.