Riot police in Brazil greet bow-and-arrow wielding indigenous protesters with tear gas
Brazilian social movement activists and natives clash with riot police during a protest against the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brasilia on May 27, 2014.
Brazilian police fired tear gas Tuesday to break up a protest by bow-and-arrow wielding indigenous chiefs who joined forces with anti-World Cup demonstrators to condemn the money spent on the tournament.
Wearing traditional clothing including feather headdresses and face paint, about 500 chiefs mainly from the Amazon basin joined another 500 protesters rallying for various social causes in Brasilia's government square and began marching toward the capital's World Cup stadium.
As mounted police moved to block the march, some of the indigenous demonstrators rushed their horses and one fired an arrow in their direction — hitting an officer in the leg, Globo TV reported.
Some of the indigenous could be seen throwing stones at some of the 700 police encircling the stadium. Protesters also blocked streets around the government plaza, where the congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court are located.
"Who is the Cup for? Not us!" shouted demonstrators. "I don't want the Cup, I want money for health and education."
— Agence France-Presse
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