Tumultuous World Indigenous Games wraps up in Brazil

PALMAS, Brazil (AP) - The elation of competing athletes filled the air at the World Indigenous Games on Saturday as the nine-day event neared its close after bringing some 2,000 indigenous people from the four corners of the globe to a dusty outpost in central Brazil.

Though the games were billed as a sort of indigenous Olympics, sporting was overshadowed by politics after a committee in the Brazilian Congress approved a controversial land demarcation measure that infuriated many indigenous Brazilians.

Noisy but peaceful protests interrupted events, and organizers responded by beefing up security and trying to return the focus to sports.

The games featured sports that tend to form part of native traditions, from river swimming to log races. The finals of the archery, spear-throwing and tug-of-war competitions were being held on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the Panamanian team took first place in the canoeing finals, sparking elation among the Spanish-speaking delegates who braved soaring Equatorial temperatures to support their team.ˆ 

Hailed by many delegates as a unique opportunity for cross-cultural exchange, the games have also come under fiery criticism from many indigenous Brazilians.

"We see this whole thing (the games) as a tool to pull the wool over our eyes," said Antonio Apinaje, a leader of the Apinaje people who declined to participate despite living in the host state of Tocantins.

He said the congressional committee's passage of the land demarcation proposal during the games seemed almost deliberately provocative.ˆ 

Critics say the proposed amendment, which would give Congress the right to demarcate indigenous lands, would be catastrophic for already beleaguered native people here. The Congress is heavily influenced by the agrobusiness lobby, which has clashed with tribes throughout the country over land.

To become law, the proposal must clear several more legislative hurdles and be signed by President Dilma Rousseff, who has vowed she won't do that.

Many in the foreign delegations, who traveled to host city Palmas from such far-flung nations as the Philippines and Ethiopia, supported the Brazilian protesters, but others voiced disapproval for mixing politics and sports.

Representatives of around two dozen of Brazil's more than 300 tribes participated in the games, and delegations came from throughout Latin America and beyond.ˆ 

The Finnish delegates, representing the reindeer-herding Sami people, stood out for their fair hair and blue eyes. The Mongolians, in silk and velvet robes, commanded attention for their peerless archery skills. The sole Russian delegate drew stares for bravely defying the heat in a fur-and-rhinestone cat suit.

Everyone was constantly snapping photos of everyone else.

"This is an eye-opener for us," said Felicia Chischilly, a 29-year-old Navajo from New Mexico who was among 19 delegates from the United States. "It's a pow wow in the true sense of the word - a gathering of nations."