Leader of the Auaris region leaves the board of the Hutukara Yanomami Association to succeed doctor Marcos Pelegrini, who held the position for one year and four months

Maurício Ye'kwana, leader and former director of the Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY), has taken over as coordinator of the Yanomami and Ye'Kwana Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI-YY). The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, signed the ordinance published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Thursday (19/12). This is the first time that an indigenous person has taken on the role of coordinator of DSEI-YY, the body responsible for the health of indigenous people in the largest indigenous land in Brazil.
“This is a collective victory for the Yanomami and Ye'kwana people. I did not expect this appointment, it was a surprise, but I accepted this challenge given the collective decision-making of the associations of the Yanomami Indigenous Land. I am very excited to have positive energy to face the challenges together with the leaders,” he told the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA).
Maurício Ye'kwana has a technical degree in Territorial Management from the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR). In addition to being director of HAY, he has worked at the Yanomami and Ye'kwana Ethno-Environmental Protection Front (FPEYY, of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), working in joint operations with the Federal Police to remove invaders, especially in the fight against illegal mining.
For five years, he was part of the indigenous advisory board of DSEI-YY. He now succeeds doctor Marcos Pelegrini, who held the position for one year and four months. Pelegrini resigned last Monday (15/12).
“I thank everyone for the opportunity to collaborate in the reconstruction of the indigenous health subsystem and for the learning I gained from participating in this process. I will be available to contribute in any way possible,” said Pelegrini in a farewell message.
Previously, nurse Leandro Bola held the position, having been the first appointment after the federal government declared a Public Health Emergency of National Importance (Espin) in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
The government recognized the crisis in the territory on January 21, 2023, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Boa Vista after being shocked by images of malnourished children and elderly people.
Since then, the government and indigenous people have been working together to recover the Yanomami Indigenous Land from the crisis caused by illegal mining, which affects the territory in several areas, such as health, education and deforestation.
Challenges and priorities
Continuing to combat the problems caused by illegal mining will be a priority for Maurício Ye'kwana. He says he will also focus on training district councilors and reestablishing relationships with health professionals living in the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
“We are focused on combating malaria, which affects the entire territory affected by mining. This will be the biggest challenge. We will continue to treat cases of malnutrition and look after the mental health of young people in Auaris and Maturacá,” he said.
According to the leadership, it is necessary to improve the safety of professionals working in the Yanomami Indigenous Land and to have a broad dialogue with professionals, especially nurses.
“I will not be alone, I will have the support of partners to work on the humanitarian crisis that exists in the Yanomami Indigenous Land. I will look at everyone as a family, because the Yanomami and Ye'kwana are relatives. I learned this from living with Davi [Kopenawa, shaman and president of the Hutukara Yanomami Association], who is like my second father.”

new moment
He will work directly with Weibe Tapeba, head of the Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai). Both are part of a group of indigenous people who hold leading positions within the federal government to deal with indigenous issues.
“The appointment of Maurício Ye'kwana represents a new moment in indigenous health in the Yanomami territory. Through dialogue with leaders and managers of indigenous organizations, we were able to agree on Maurício's name, which has important attributes that will enable him to continue planning at the DSEI. We therefore fulfilled our role of articulation so that this important moment could become a reality,” he declared.
The Secretary of Indigenous Health also explained that he plans to meet the need to increase the number of professionals in order to reach all indigenous communities, and to structure health and sanitation equipment, in addition to improving the assistance network in Boa Vista and in the Yanomami Indigenous Land, with the implementation of the Reference Center in Surucucu.
“It will be the first in the country to offer specialized care services, implementation of telehealth in four base centers and at CASAI Yanomami, in addition to the implementation of the Hospital Unit for the Health of the Indigenous Peoples of Roraima”, he stated.
The implementation will be a partnership with UFRR, being the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and the Brazilian Hospital Services Company (EBSERH).
Since 2023, indigenous leaders have taken on strategic positions in the federal government, with Joenia Wapichana being the first indigenous president of Funai and Sonia Guajajara being the first Minister of Indigenous Peoples, created at the beginning of Lula's third term.
“The relationship between the Brazilian State and indigenous peoples is beginning to change. Now, indigenous managers are occupying strategic management positions in various instances of the Federal Government, which allows us to implement a new model of governance and indigenous management in public administration,” assessed Weibe Tapeba.
According to Weibe Tapeba, from January 2025, Sesai must build a strategy with indigenous organizations in conjunction with the Yanomami and Ye'kwana Indigenous Health District Council for monitoring and planning DSEI actions, reinforcing indigenous social participation.