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Vicente Cañas, S.J. (October 22, 1939 – April 6, 1987) was a Spanish Christian missionary and Jesuit brother, born in Alborea, Albacete, who is credited with making the first peaceful contact with the Enawene Nawe Indian tribe in 1974. Afterwards, he lived with them for over ten years, adopting their way of life and helping them with necessary medical supplies. Due to his help, the Enawene Nawe population rebounded from a low of 97 individuals to a population of over 430. Similar to Chico Mendes and Wilson Pinheiro, he died at the hands of cattle ranchers who were destroying the Amazon Rainforest.^[1]

History

Cañas helped the Enawene Nawe secure lands they considered necessary for their survival. In spite of receiving death threats from land owners and cattle ranchers, he successfully lobbied the Brazilian government for the territory to be officially granted for use by the Enawene Nawe tribe.

The Enawene Nawe were campaigning for the use of a tract of land known as the Rio Preto, an important fishing area, which was omitted from inclusion in their original territory. The tribe received numerous death threats from the local cattle ranchers subsequent to their lobbying.

The cultural survival of the Enawene Nawe is under constant threat. Their most pressing problem is the location of 5 mini hydroelectric generators located in the Juruena River, which is decreasing the native fish population. Because of this, the performing of the celebrated Yakwa festival may soon become impossible, putting at risk the heart of their rich religious tradition.

The Rio Preto (Adawina/Adowina) region has still not been demarcated, despite many years of work by the Enawene Nawe and a local indigenist NGO, OPAN (Operação Amazonia Nativa).

These threats are because of what Vicente (Kiwxi) saw all those years ago - colonisation of the state of Mato Grosso and Amazonia by soya monoculturalists led by the Maggi family.

Assassination and aftermath

In 1987, a group of ranchers entered the home of Vicente Cañas, near the village of the Enawene Nawe tribe, and stabbed him to death. Subsequently, the investigation into his murder was marred by corruption and incompetence and none of the 6 suspected murderers people were initially charged.

Nineteen years after the murder of Vicente Cañas, the trial of those accused of killing him began in Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state. The landmark trial began on October 24, 2006. Three men, which include the former police chief, are finally on trial. Two of the other accused murderers have long since died and a third man has been deemed "too old" to stand trial.

Ronaldo Antônio Osmar, the only one who could stand trial for the 1987 murder, was sentenced to 14 years and 3 months in prison,^[2] 11 years after being acquitted of the murder by a jury, who considered there was not enough evidence for a conviction.

References

External links

Brazilian Government Contact, Dr. Márcio Thomáz Bastos Archived 2006-12-31 at the Wayback Machine

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{more citations needed|date=May 2014}}
-'''Vicente Cañas''', '''[[S.J.]]''' ([[Albacete]], [[October 22]],
+[[File:Vicente Cañas.jpg|thumb|right|Vicente Cañas]]
-[[1939]] — [[Mato Grosso]], [[April 6]], [[1987]]) was a Christian missionary, a [[jesuit]] brother, who is credited with making the first peaceful contact with the [[Enawene Nawe]] Indian tribe in 1974. Afterwards, he lived with them for over ten years, adopting to their way of life and helping them with necessary medical supplies. Due to his help, the Enawene Nawe population rebounded from a low of 97 individuals to a population of over 430.  Similar to [[Chico Mendes]] and [[Wilson Pinheiro]], he died at the hands of cattle ranchers who are destroying the Amazon Rainforest.
+'''Vicente Cañas''', '''[[Society of Jesus|S.J.]]''' (October 22, 1939 &ndash; April 6, 1987) was a Spanish Christian missionary and [[Jesuit]] brother, born in [[Alborea, Albacete]], who is credited with making the first peaceful contact with the [[Enawene Nawe people|Enawene Nawe]] Indian tribe in 1974. Afterwards, he lived with them for over ten years, adopting their way of life and helping them with necessary medical supplies. Due to his help, the Enawene Nawe population rebounded from a low of 97 individuals to a population of over 430.  Similar to [[Chico Mendes]] and [[Wilson Pinheiro]], he died at the hands of cattle ranchers who were destroying the Amazon Rainforest.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LdYy-joKNhYC&pg=PA146&dq=Vicente+Cañas&lr=&ei=XnH4SZHIFYmGNLLvsesD ''Racial revolutions: antiracism and Indian resurgence in Brazil'', Jonathan W. Warren]</ref>
 == History ==
-Canas helped the Enawene Nawe secure their land which was necessary for their survival. In spite of receiving death threats from land owners and cattle ranchers, he successfully lobbied the Brazilian government for the territory to be officially granted for use by the Enawene Nawe tribe.
+Cañas helped the Enawene Nawe secure lands they considered necessary for their survival. In spite of receiving death threats from land owners and cattle ranchers, he successfully lobbied the Brazilian government for the territory to be officially granted for use by the Enawene Nawe tribe.
-The Enawene Nawe were campaigning for the use of an important part of their land known as the Rio Preto which omitted from inclusion in their original territory. Subsequently, the Enawene Nawe received numerous death threats from a the local cattle ranchers.  The area is important because it represents an important fishing area for the tribe.
+The Enawene Nawe were campaigning for the use of a tract of land known as the Rio Preto, an important fishing area, which was omitted from inclusion in their original territory. The tribe received numerous death threats from the local cattle ranchers subsequent to their lobbying.
-The Enawene Nawe are under mounting threat for their cultural survival. At present the fish population of the Juruena River is at risk of local extinctions because of 5 hydroelectic mini-generators. This means that the celebrated Yakwa festival may not be possible, putting at risk the very basis of their rich religion.
+The cultural survival of the Enawene Nawe is under constant threat. Their most pressing problem is the location of 5 mini hydroelectric generators located in the Juruena River, which is decreasing the native fish population. Because of this, the performing of the celebrated Yakwa festival may soon become impossible, putting at risk the heart of their rich religious tradition.
 The Rio Preto (Adawina/Adowina) region has still not been demarcated, despite many years of work by the Enawene Nawe and a local indigenist NGO, OPAN (Operação Amazonia Nativa).
-These threats are because of what Vicente (Kiwxi) saw all those years ago - colonisation of the state of Mato Grosso and amazonia by soya monoculturalists led by the Maggi family.
+These threats are because of what Vicente (Kiwxi) saw all those years ago - colonisation of the state of Mato Grosso and Amazonia by soya monoculturalists led by the Maggi family.
-== Assassination ==
+== Assassination and aftermath ==
-In 1987, a group of ranchers entered the home of Vicente Canas, near the village of the Enawene Nawe tribe and stabbed him to death. Subsequently, the investigation in to his murder was marred by corruption and incompetence and none of the 6 suspected murderers people were initially charged.
+In 1987, a group of ranchers entered the home of Vicente Cañas, near the village of the Enawene Nawe tribe, and stabbed him to death. Subsequently, the investigation into his murder was marred by corruption and incompetence and none of the 6 suspected murderers people were initially charged.
+Nineteen years after the murder of Vicente Cañas, the trial of those accused of killing him began in Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state. The landmark trial began on October 24, 2006.  Three men, which include the former police chief, are finally on trial. Two of the other accused murderers have long since died and a third man has been deemed "too old" to stand trial.
-==Trial of Murderers==
+Ronaldo Antônio Osmar, the only one who could stand trial for the 1987 murder, was sentenced to 14 years and 3 months in prison,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2017-12-01/condenado-carcel-asesinato-jesuita-vicente-canas-brasil_1486545/|title=Justicia para Vicente Cañas: 14 años de cárcel para el asesino del jesuita español |date=December 2017 }}</ref> 11 years after being acquitted of the murder by a jury, who considered there was not enough evidence for a conviction.
-Nineteen years after the murder of Vicente Canas, the trial of those accused of killing him began in Cuiabá, capital of Mato Grosso state. The landmark trial began on the 24th of October 2006 and as of this date, the outcome has not been determined.  Three men, which include the former police chief are finally on trial. Two of the other accused murderers have long since died and a third man has been deemed "too old" to stand trial.
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.survival-international.org/related_material.php?id=346 Brazilian Government Contact, Dr. Márcio Thomáz Bastos]
+*[http://www.survival-international.org/related_material.php?id=346 Brazilian Government Contact, Dr. Márcio Thomáz Bastos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231064002/http://www.survival-international.org/related_material.php?id=346 |date=2006-12-31 }}
 ==See also==
@@ Line 29: / Line 33: @@
 *[[Dorothy Stang]]
 *[[Chico Mendes]]
+*[[José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva]]
 *[[Environment of Brazil]]
 *[[Indigenous People in Brazil]]
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Canas, Vicente}}
+[[Category:1939 births]]
 [[Category:1987 deaths]]
-[[Category:Brazilian people]]
+[[Category:People from Albacete]]
-[[Category:Deaths by knives]]
+[[Category:Assassinated religious leaders]]
-[[Category:Assassinated activists]]
+[[Category:Assassinated Spanish people]]
+[[Category:20th-century Spanish Jesuits]]
+[[Category:Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries]]
-[[nl:Vincente Cañas]]
+[[Category:Roman Catholic missionaries in Brazil]]
+[[Category:Spanish people murdered abroad]]
+[[Category:People murdered in Brazil]]
+[[Category:Deaths by stabbing in Brazil]]
+[[Category:Forestry in Brazil]]
+[[Category:Forest conservation]]
+[[Category:Environmental killings]]
+[[Category:Spanish expatriates in Brazil]]
+[[Category:Jesuit missionaries]]

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