About 1,400 members of various indigenous Brazilian tribes have set up camp outside the National Congress in Brasilia to demand land rights.

Organisers of the Tierra Libre (Free Land) camp aim to discuss issues of land demarcation and indigenous rights with authorities.

brasilia indigenous protest
Members of some of Brazil's indigenous tribes demonstrate in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilia Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
An indigenous Brazilian man aims his bow and arrow at the National Congress in Brasilia Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
Brazilian natives dance in the rain in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilia during National Mobilisation Week Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
Brazilian Indians from various indigenous ethnic groups dance and sing in the rain at the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters

"A hundred groups from across the country are here to express their dissatisfaction and denounce attacks against their rights, which are happening in Congress," Cleber Buzzato, executive secretary of the Indigenous Missionary Council told AFP.

Indians fear that legislators will allow the use of their ancestral lands by agribusiness, which has the backing of a group of parliamentarians and the new Minister of Agriculture, Katia Abreu. Many believe that new legislation threatens to shrink the size of some reserves for indigenous groups.

brasilia indigenous protest
Hundreds of indigenous Brazilians demonstrate in Brasilia as part of the National Mobilisation Week Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
Brazilian Indians take part in a protest in front of the National Congress in Brasilia Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
An indigenous Brazilian man takes part in a protest in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
Brazilians from various indigenous ethnic groups take part in a protest at the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
A man smokes a pipe in front of a row of riot police officers outside the Planalto Palace in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
A Brazilian Indian participates in the National Indigenous Mobilisation camp in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
Members of the Xucuru ethnic group attend the Terra Livre Camp (Free Land Camp) in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
A member of the Kaingang ethnic group protests during National Indigenous Mobilisation week in Brasilia Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters
brasilia indigenous protest
A member of a Brazilian indigenous tribe plays the guitar at the so-called Free Land camp in front of the National Congress in Brasilia Evaristo Sa/AFP
brasilia indigenous protest
Indigenous men pose for a selfie while setting up a tent at the Ministries Esplanade in Brasilia Evaristo Sa/AFP
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