News-Letter Nr. 441

Reemerged Indigenous Peoples and Communities Claim the Right to Have their Lands Demarcated

Indigenous peoples surprised Brazil in the year 2000. In the northeast, southeast, and north regions, indigenous peoples and communities that had been forced to live in hiding or to disguise their ethic identity in the past because of the colonialist repression have shown that they are intent on resisting and building a different history of Brazil. On the eve of the new millennium, old indigenous peoples have reemerged as well as urban indigenous communities.This year, 10 peoples that are not included in the records of official population censuses claimed the right to have their ethnic identity respected and their lands demarcated.

The peoples in question and the places they are living in are the following: in the north region, the Náua in the National Divisor Mountain Range Park (state of Acre) and the Tupinambá, Maitapú, Aipim and a Mundukuru community in the High Tapajós River (state of Pará); in the southeast region, the Kaxixó in Martinho Campos and Pompeu and the Aranã in the Jequitinhonha Valey (state of Minas Gerais); and in the northeast, another Tupinambá community in Olivença and the Tumbalalá in Abaré and Curaçá (state of Bahia), the Kalankó in Pariconha, the Karuazu in Água Branca (state of Alagoas), and the Pipipã in Ibimirim (state of Penambuco).

The debates around the 500 years that have elapsed since Brazil was invaded and the Indigenous March and Conference has encouraged the decision of the reemerged peoples. These indigenous peoples want Funai to recognize their ethic identity and respect their constitutional rights.

Population data also ignore indigenous people living in cities

The reemerged peoples and indigenous living in cities, who have been suffering acts of prejudice and have been discriminated against by the surrounding society, resent the fact that Funai has not registered their existence. According to official data, there are 366,778 indigenous individuals belonging to 215 indigenous peoples in Brazil.

According to the results of a survey carried out by Cimi and reported to the Human Rights Committee of the Organization of American States (OAS), which covered the reemerged peoples and indigenous individuals living in cities, the indigenous population in Brazil amounts to 551,210 indigenous belonging to 225 peoples. Of these, 358,310 live in villages, 192,000 live in cities or in their outskirts, and about 900 live in isolation or have never been contacted by the agency officially in charge of indigenous affairs.

Data provided by Funai indicate that there are at least 50 places in Brazil where indigenous peoples and communities never contacted by the national society can be found.

It's still difficult to determine the exact number of reemerged peoples, since reaffirming the ethic identity involves a long process. It is likely that in the next few years we will have news of other peoples and communities that had not assumed their indigenous identity before.

"You've got to overcome your fears to deal with this situation. In order to survive, many indigenous peoples have mingled with established communities and have assumed other identities, while others have simply denied their own ethnic origins. The prospect of recovering traditional territories and the example set by other communities have encouraged many of these peoples to securely reassume their ethnic identity," analyzed Egon Heck, Cimi's executive secretary.

List of indigenous lands excludes reoccupied and claimed areas

Officially, Funai acknowledges the existence of 563 indigenous areas. However, indigenous communities want 178 additional lands to be included in the list of areas to be identified. These are areas being claimed by reemerged indigenous peoples and by communities that want to expand their villages or areas that have been reoccupied by indigenous populations kept out of them by force for years by invaders. Considering all such cases, there are 741 indigenous areas in Brazil.

Reoccupation actions have been furthering the demarcation process. This year, the Pataxó in the south tip of the state of Bahia are the indigenous people that more than any other have engaged in this kind of movement. Between March and April of this year, four communities reemerged as a result of their actions, namely, Aldeia Nova, Guaxuma, Águas Belas, and Barra do Caí. All these villages are only waiting for the Technical Group that was set up to demarcate the Pataxó indigenous area to complete its work, leaving the Pascoal Mount, which was reoccupied in August 1999, within its bounds.

Like the Pataxó, six other indigenous peoples have decided to reoccupy indigenous areas: the Kaiová (state of Mato Grosso do Sul), the Guarani (state of Santa Catarina), the Tupinikim and Guarani (state of Espírito Santo), and the Xukuru and Kambiwá (state of Pernambuco). The Guarani of the Araça'í indigenous area and the Pataxó of the Barra do Caí village have been expelled from their traditional land. All the reoccupied areas were invaded while they were being demarcated or even after they were officially demarcated. Others have not been included in the official list of indigenous areas so far.

Reoccupation actions have been marked by violence and conflicts with the civil, military and federal police departments, city halls, farmers, and gunmen. It's a reality not likely to change, not even in the new millennium. "The new history of Brazil will be built with the courage and determination indigenous peoples have shown already. This is a new period in an old fight for respect for the identity of indigenous peoples," says Egon Heck.

Brasília, 13 December 2000.
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi




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