At the entrance to the Jaminawa territory, a disputed forest area near the Purus River in the Brazilian Amazon, a sign alerted visitors they were entering indigenous land, until it was burned down this year by invaders, along with many trees.

Indigenous leader Francisco Jaminawa said cattle ranchers were probably responsible for the fires on the land, which is protected from deforestation by a decade-old court decision.

“Every year they come in, they disrespect us,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “They knock everything down and then plant grass for their cattle.”..