This working group has also led a campaign to have the US patent on Ayahuasca revoked. Ayahuasca is a sacred plant used in traditional ceremonies by many Amazonian indigenous cultures. We are very pleased to announce that on November 4, we won a huge victory. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office rejected the patent on Ayahuasca. The Brazil Working Group Brazil working group members are active in the campaign to demarcate the contiguous territory of the Macuxi peoples in Brazil, which harnesses international attention to protect existing reserves.
Members continue to support the self-sufficiency of indigenous territories and extractive reserves.
The group recently enabled residents of the Tucurui Lake Island traditional community to converge on Brasilia at the G7 Pilot Program Participants meeting to campaign for the creation of new extractive reserves. The Guyana Shield Working Group Members of this group concentrate on the countries of Surinam and Guyana. The principle objective of the working group is to confront the mining and timber industries and the effects on the Indigenous Peoples of the region. Recently, the group organized a meeting for Amerindian Village Captains to define a common position and strategy for dealing with two gold and diamond mining concessions totaling 13.9 million acres that include or affect over fifty indigenous communities. This page last updated on December 17, 1999.