My family have lived in our indigenous territory for generations; the Maranhão region of northern Brazil is my ancestral home. For centuries, across 400,000 hectares of land, my people – the Guajajara – have preserved our traditions and the natural world there, looking after the Amazon rainforest, the scrublands and hills. Our traditions help us sustain the environment, and in return nature provides for us: trees give us food and medicine, we hunt animals, water sustains all life. Our community of 15,000 Indigenous people inherited our rituals and customs from those who went before us. Also passed down to us, however, was the need to fight. Since 1500, when the Portuguese arrived (uninvited, of course) to our country, our land has been under constant attack. As a child, my grandfather explained all this to me. A warrior of the forest, he understood the grave dangers people and the planet faced. He’s no longer with us, but I continue his legacy. Because in recent decades, the threat and violence has got worse. Our environment is being destroyed for capitalist greed and gain. Around us is illegal logging, hunting and mining, the poisoning of soil and water by businesses, deforestation and local communities being displaced. Invasions of our lands and massacres of our people are common. In 2007, one of our tribal leaders, Tomé Guajajara, was killed in his village during an armed invasion by loggers. It made us realise we needed to formalise our fight. In 2012, we found 72 illegal entry points in our territory which needed closing. In 2013, we formalised our efforts, founding the Guardians of the Forest. Since then, six Guardians have been killed, most recently Janildo Guajajara who was shot dead last month. We are local people taking matters into our own hands to protect ourselves and our land. For me, there was no question I would be part of this resistance. I’ve witnessed these murders of close relatives, friends and neighbours. Not a single killer has been put behind bars. Those who perpetrate this violence – and the authorities that are complicit – show a total disregard for our way of life. When we see an illegal camp or identify a new incursion, we Guardians have an advantage. Our knowledge of the forest runs far deeper than theirs. Our networks coordinate, study the area, and prepare to act. We are defending ourselves and our territory, yes, but that involves fighting back. We look for the best way to approach while minimising the risks to our safety. We agree on tactics, then surround the camps, and destroy their huts and equipment. We dismantle their trucks, and burn their tractors. They are left with no choice but to go packing. All we want is to preserve our land and to protect ourselves. Our enemies want us dead. They have pistols and automatics, weapons far more deadly than our bows and arrows and a few hunting rifles. And they show little regard for the authorities or the law. And who can blame them? We send so much information to the government, but they never take notice. We can’t trust the environment agency, the military or the police to do anything. In our view, they’re all complicit in these crimes – they have the power to act, but they refuse. And European countries send money in international aid. It’s simply corrupt. Our resistance is working. Today there are only five illegal entry points into our land. We need the world to listen; to see the violence against us and say “no more”. But this struggle extends beyond our territory’s borders – it’s about the future of our shared planet, and the natural world surviving. It’s about your grandchildren and mine having a chance at a future. The environment is being destroyed: food and water will be more scarce, disasters more frequent, temperatures rising even higher. I have no option but to act: my life – and the lives of those in my family – depend on it. But in all honesty, that’s true of every person on this planet.