Joênia Wapixana
Joênia Wapichana (officially Joênia Batista de Carvalho; born 20 April 1974) is the first indigenous lawyer in Brazil and a member of the Wapixana tribe of northern Brazil. After taking a land dispute to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Wapixana became the first indigenous lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court of Brazil. She is the current president of the National Commission for the Defense of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Joênia Wapixana OMC | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the National Indigenous People Foundation | |
| Assumed office 2 January 2023 | |
| President | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
| Minister | Sônia Guajajara |
| Preceded by | Marcelo Xavier |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 1 February 2019 – 2 January 2023 | |
| Constituency | Roraima |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joênia Batista de Carvalho 20 April 1974 Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil |
| Political party | REDE (2017–present) |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Politician, attorney |
| Known for | First indigenous attorney in Brazil, first indigenous attorney to argue before the Brazilian Supreme Court and first indigenous woman deputy elected to Brazilian National Congress |
She was elected federal deputy for the state of Roraima, from the party list of the Sustainability Network (REDE), in the 2018 general election. Batista de Carvalho is the first indigenous woman elected to the Chamber of Deputies and the second indigenous federal deputy since the election of Mário Juruna in 1982.
After Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office as President of Brazil, she became the president of FUNAI and also the first indigenous woman to assume the role.