Legal Practice & Activism
Kari Guajajara is an internationally recognised Indigenous activist. As a lawyer advocated for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, combating gender-based violence and protecting the environment.
Kari directs AmazoniAlerta’s partnerships within Indigenous communities and organizations and works on AmazoniAlerta’s legal actions.
Kari is native from the Araribóia Indigenous land and belongs to the Guajajara-Tenetehára People, who have been suffering extensive losses of their traditional territories, devastating losses of life, and disruptions of tradition due to the contact with non-Indigenous.
Kari was born in Ypaw Myz’ym, which translates as “Calm Waters” – in Portuguese, her village is known as Lagoa Quieta. Kari was one of the first Indigenous women ever to enroll in a higher education program at the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), and the first Indigenous person to obtain a law degree in her state.
Alongside her role at AmazoniAlerta Kari works as a legal advisor for the Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Organizations Network (COIAB) and the Maranhão Indigenous Organizations Network (COAPIMA) and also serves on the Indigenous Rights: Access to Justice and Procedural Singularities – Working Group at the National Council of Justice, Brazil (CNJ).
Kari describes her path in using the law to advocate for Indigenous rights:
“My work as a lawyer evolved organically from who I am and I simply started occupying a space where I could amplify my voice and advocate what we, Indigenous peoples, have always stood for. Perhaps the greatest learning that I will always carry with me (from my Indigenous people) is precisely the understanding of our collective existence. Humankind has lost much of this: people have become individualistic, and only seek power.”
Qualifications & Teaching
Kari has a law degree from the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA) and Masters in Constitutional Law from the University of Brasilia.
Awards
In 2023, as part of Opi’s legal team, Kari received an Innovare Award, one of the top Brazilian Legal awards, in the Advocacy category for advancing “Access to justice for isolated indigenous peoples”.
Kari is an inaugural recipient of The U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Global Anti-Racism Champions 2023 – awarded in recognition of her work promoting Indigenous Peoples’ rights, combating gender-based violence and protecting the environment.
