On October 21, 2025, the ceremony "For a National Indigenous Truth Commission" took place at the Brasília Cultural Center (CCB), where indigenous leaders delivered a draft decree to government authorities for the creation of the CNIV with the motto "We have always been here!" .
More than 130 people were present, including indigenous leaders from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil - APIB and its regional base, indigenous and indigenist organizations, and government authorities, marking a historic moment in the struggle of indigenous peoples for memory, truth, justice, and reparation for the serious violations committed throughout the history of Brazil.
The proposal reiterates a recommendation made more than a decade ago by the National Truth Commission (CNV), which pointed to the deaths of at least 8,350 indigenous people due to actions and omissions by the State between 1946 and 1988. This number is almost twenty times greater than the number of officially recognized political deaths and disappearances.
Photo: Leobark/Secom/MPF
The draft is the result of work by the Forum on Memory, Truth, Full Reparation, Non-Repetition and Justice for Indigenous Peoples, spearheaded by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB). The text proposes that the CNIV (National Commission for the Investigation of Violence Against Women) be established within the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and composed of 14 members, half appointed by APIB and half by the Forum. With a duration of three years, the commission would have the power to investigate murders, forced removals, genocides, torture, and territorial dispossession, as well as identify those responsible and propose reparation measures.
The Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, received the document on behalf of the government, alongside representatives from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU), and the Ministries of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) and Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC).
The objective is for the Brazilian State to assume its responsibility for the serious human rights violations suffered by indigenous peoples, which included murders, forced removals, poisonings, kidnappings of children, and land dispossession. The creation of the CNIV (National Commission for Indigenous Rights) is seen as a duty of the State, according to Article 216 of the Federal Constitution, to ensure the right to the memory of each indigenous people.
Photo: reproduction/instagram
The Forum: Memory, Truth, Full Reparation, Non-Repetition and Justice for Indigenous Peoples makes public the letter entitled "Why a National Indigenous Truth Commission?" , a document that details the historical context and the need for the establishment of the CNIV as a result of the systematic violence against the original peoples. The letter is the result of a collective construction process focused on revealing memory, truth and justice for indigenous peoples.
The ceremony was held by the Forum Coordination, which includes the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the Institute of Relational Policies (IPR), the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (6th CCR/MPF) and the Observatory of Indigenous Rights and Policies of the University of Brasília (OBIND-UnB), with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Brazil and the more than 60 organizations that have joined the Forum .
READ HERE THE FULL DRAFT FOR THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL INDIGENOUS TRUTH COMMISSION.
CNIV Objectives
Investigation and clarification of the facts
* To clarify the facts and circumstances of cases of serious violations of the rights of indigenous peoples.
* Include in the scope of the investigation the cases referred to by the National Truth Commission that are related to indigenous issues.
* Specifically investigate violations such as murders, genocides, forced evictions, torture, deaths, enforced disappearances, kidnappings, concealment of corpses, dispossession of their lands, and discrimination.
* To locate and identify the bodies and remains of missing persons.
Identification of those responsible and damages.
* Identify locations, structures, public and private institutions (military, civilian, including business or non-profit organizations), and individuals who are directly or indirectly responsible for the violations.
* Identify damage to indigenous assets, rights, values, cultures, and customs.
Cooperation and reparation
* To reveal the historical truth.
* To collaborate with all branches of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the violations.
* To collaborate in providing assistance to the remaining victims of serious violations.
* To recommend measures for the full reparation of the affected indigenous peoples, which includes the restitution of rights, compensation, and rehabilitation.
* To recommend sufficient measures and public policies to prevent the violation of indigenous rights and ensure that it does not happen again.
See the photo gallery of the ceremony.
Photos: Leobark/Secom/MPF