Who Were Dom Phillips And Bruno Pereira?

On June 5, 2022, Brazillian Indigenist, Bruno Pereira and the British journalist, Dom Philips were murdered during a trip through the Vale do Javari, the second largest indigenous land in Brazil, in the extreme west of the Amazonas.

They went to interview indigenous people in a place called Lago do Jaburu and then moved to the Sao Rafael community, where they met with a local fisherman. The crime occurred on the way between the community and the municipality of Atalaia do Norte.

Who Were Dom Phillips And Bruno Pereira?

• Bruno Pereira

Bruno Pereira was born in the city of Recife, in Pernambuco, on August 15, 1980. He was an indigenist and career servant of Funai. In 2019, he led the largest expedition to contact isolated Indians in 20 years.

However, after pressure from ritualist sectors linked to the government of Jair Bolsonaro, he was dismissed from his post in October of that year by Sergio Moro’s then-executive secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Luiz Pontel.

• Dom Philips

Dom Philips was a journalist who contributed to Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times and The Washington Post. He moved to Brazil in 2007 and lived in Salvador. He was married to Brazilian, Alessandra Sampaio and was writing a book about the Amazon rainforest and its sustainable potential.