I really liked this article :
On all her official papers, she is known as Joênia Batista de Carvalho. But that is not the real name of the first Indian woman to become a lawyer in Brazil, just a name a clerk randomly selected when her parents were first brought from their Amazon village to have their births registered.
"Everything I do is aimed at focusing attention on our community, so that others, outside, can see who we really are," explained Ms. Batista, staff attorney for the Roraima Indigenous Council here in Brazil's northernmost state. "Why have we as a people been able to continue to exist? Because we know where we come from. By having roots, you can see the direction in which you want to go."
Though only 31, Ms. Batista has emerged as one of the most effective advocates of the indigenous cause in Brazil, the bane of ranchers, miners and loggers who want to encroach on Indian land. But unlike the tribal chiefs and shamans with whom she works closely, her weapon is the white man's law, which she fights to have obeyed by all, including those who make it.
In Brasília, she is a familiar figure, filing for injunctions and arguing cases to learned judges twice her age. In Washington early this year, she presented a complaint to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, seeking to compel the Brazilian government to finish demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Reserve, set aside as a home for her people and a half-dozen other tribes.
Raposa do Sol is the reserve that I brought to your attention here. Ms. Batista's journey is intriguing, her story is inspiring and her dedication to her work and her people is a testament to her character. Read the article; it will brighten your day.
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