MIRANDA and ANTONIO JOAO, Brazil, Feb 29 (IPS) - Thousands of indigenous people in the west-central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul are living in precarious camps or small overcrowded reservations, lacking the land they need to grow the food needed to overcome high levels of malnutrition.

But despite government recognition of their ancestral land, their claims are tied up in court. Meanwhile, their community leaders face the threat of being killed for attempting to secure respect for indigenous people’s constitutional right to their traditional lands.