Indigenous women lead groundbreaking firefighting brigade after devastating 2018 blaze in brazil’s cerrado

When wildfire swept through 73,000 hectares of the Santana Indigenous Territory in Brazil’s Cerrado savanna in 2018, the Bakairi people watched helplessly as authorities arrived too late to prevent catastrophic damage. That traumatic experience sparked an extraordinary response: the creation of a volunteer fire brigade led predominantly by Indigenous women of all ages.

Of the 45 trained volunteers now protecting their community, 25 are women ranging from teenagers to grandmothers. “It’s not just young girls,” explained Edna Rodrigues Bakairi, a local educator and brigade member. “There are women aged 40, 45, 50 who can fight the fires. They come from all age groups, and they all act with courage.” The women were natural choices for firefighting roles since they typically spend more time in the community than men.

The brigade received training from Paulo Selva, a retired colonel from Mato Grosso state’s fire department who recognized a critical gap in wildfire response. “The fire department only addresses issues related to fires that occur within its areas of operation, but more than 45% of forest fires occur outside of that legal condition,” Selva noted. To address this problem, he founded the Environmental Operations Group Institute, traveling to Indigenous communities throughout the region to provide training in firefighting, prevention, first aid, and survival skills. This grassroots initiative represents a powerful example of how Indigenous communities are taking the lead in protecting their territories from escalating environmental threats.