AmazoniAlerta, in partnership with the Legal Department of Coiab – Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, have launched the Indigenous Rights Clinic – a program providing ongoing legal training in Indigenous Law for Indigenous lawyers in Brazil.
The initiative is a response to the significant unfulfilled demand for lawyers specialized in Indigenous Law from Indigenous rights organisations, NGOs and public institutions in Brazil.
As Lucas Cravo de Oliveira, a lawyer from AmazoniAlerta who coordinates the training explains, “Brazilian law schools do not teach Indigenous law as a subject and there are only a few, taught specialised courses available. In other words, this means that the discipline of Indigenous law is learnt through practice. Our program aims to support the skills and knowledge of practicing Indigenous rights lawyers.”
Using actual legal cases, whether widely known or not, as case studies, Lucas discusses the fundamentals and strategies of Indigenous Law biweekly with a group of young Indigenous lawyers connected to Coiab and AmazoniAlerta.