Paulo Paulino Guajajara was attacked and shot dead on Friday while hunting in the Arariboia Reserve in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. It states leaders from the Guajajara tribe for Reuters. He was a member of the Guardians of the Forest, a group formed to combat illegal logging in the area.
Another man from the indigenous population was injured in the attack. The Brazilian police said one of the loggers was also killed in the fire fight, the BBC writes.
The conflict between indigenous people and illegal loggers has escalated since President Jair Bolsonaro took office earlier this year and promised that he would open up areas protected by indigenous people for economic development.
The attack on Guajajara provokes anger at the organization APIB, which represents many of the approximately 900,000 people of indigenous population in Brazil.
"The Bolsonaro government has the indigenous people's blood on their hands," APIB said in a statement.
Paulino Guajajara, who is in his 20s, told Reuters in September that it had become a dangerous task to protect the rainforest from intruders, but that his people could not give in to fear.
- I'm afraid sometimes, but we have to raise our heads and act. We are fighting here, said Paulo Paulino Guajajara.