| Name | Caleb |
| Legacy | Continues to shape the political landscape in Brazil, where indigenous land claims remain a contentious and unresolved issue |
| Ethnicity | Indigenous, Brazilian Amazon |
| Occupation | Indigenous leader |
| Achievements | Spearheaded a movement to defend indigenous land rights in the Amazon • Helped forge a pan-Amazonian indigenous rights movement that gained international recognition and support |
| Years active | Late 20th century |
| Cause of death | Assassinated in the early 2000s |
Caleb was an influential indigenous leader from the Amazon rainforest of Brazil who helped organize and lead a decades-long movement to protect the rights and lands of Amazon tribes against exploitation by loggers, miners, and settler colonists. As the head of the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (COIAB), Caleb brought international attention to the plight of indigenous Brazilians and helped forge a pan-Amazonian indigenous rights movement that continues to have a major impact on the country's politics and development.
Caleb was born in 1953 in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, a large swath of protected rainforest in central Brazil that is home to numerous indigenous groups. As a young man, he was trained in traditional Amazonian hunting, fishing and agricultural practices by his elders. He also gained fluency in several indigenous languages as well as Portuguese, the national language of Brazil.
In the 1970s, Caleb became involved in indigenous rights activism, particularly efforts to resist the Brazilian government's plans to build large hydroelectric dams and roads that would have flooded or bisected indigenous territories. His organizational skills, eloquence, and principled leadership quickly made him a prominent figure in the burgeoning pan-Amazonian indigenous movement.
In 1985, Caleb was elected the first president of the newly formed Coordinating Body of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (COIAB), an alliance of over 160 different Amazonian tribes and indigenous organizations. Under his leadership, the COIAB became a powerful political force, successfully lobbying the Brazilian government to expand the area of protected indigenous lands and pushing for greater indigenous autonomy and self-determination.
Caleb's charisma and impassioned advocacy made him a household name in Brazil and earned him international recognition as a leading voice for the rights of indigenous peoples. He forged alliances with environmental groups, human rights organizations, and sympathetic politicians to support the COIAB's agenda. Caleb traveled widely, meeting with world leaders, giving speeches, and appearing in documentaries to raise awareness of the threats facing Amazonian tribes.
Caleb's high-profile activism made him many enemies, especially among logging, mining and agribusiness interests that sought to exploit the Amazon's natural resources. In 2003, he was assassinated by gunmen while attending a community meeting in the state of Pará. His murder sparked outrage and massive protests across Brazil and internationally.
Though Caleb is gone, the indigenous movement he helped lead continues to shape Brazilian politics and environmental policy to this day. The COIAB remains a powerful voice advocating for indigenous land rights, sustainable development, and the preservation of the Amazon rainforest. Caleb's life and legacy have also inspired a new generation of indigenous leaders and activists across Latin America.
Caleb is widely revered as a hero and martyr for the indigenous cause. In 2010, the Brazilian government created the Caleb Indigenous Rights Protection Program to safeguard threatened tribes and their territories. In 2015, the city of Altamira unveiled a large statue of Caleb overlooking the Xingu River. And in 2020, the United Nations Environment Program awarded Caleb a posthumous lifetime achievement award for his environmental advocacy work. While the battles he fought are far from over, Caleb's courageous stand for his people's sovereignty and the preservation of the Amazon continues to reverberate through Brazil's national consciousness.
