Brazil’s Krenak Indigenous group gets literary esteem and an apology for dictatorship-era crimes [Video]

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It was a historic week for Brazil’s Krenak people, getting both literary esteem and an apology for dictatorship-era crimes — both firsts for the Indigenous people of the country.

On Tuesday, the indigenous group received a formal apology for human rights abuses they suffered during the military dictatorship (1964-1985) — a first in Brazil. Then on Friday one of their leaders, renowned writer and environmentalist Ailton Krenak, earned a seat at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, the country’s most exclusive literature body.