|
 It's still difficult to determine the exact number of reemerged
peoples,
since reaffirming their ethnic identities involves a long process.
By
Indigenous peoples surprised Brazil in the year 2000. In the northeast, southeast, and
northern regions, indigenous peoples and communities that had been forced to live in
hiding or to disguise their ethnic identity in the past because of the colonialist
repression, have shown that they are intent on resisting and building a different history
of Brazil. Old indigenous peoples have reemerged as well as urban indigenous communities.
Ten 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 live 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). These indigenous peoples want Funai (Fundação
Nacional do Índio—National Foundation of the Indian) to recognize their ethnic
identity and respect their constitutional rights.
The indigenous peoples 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 groups 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 individuals living in cities, the indigenous population in Brazil amounts to
551,210 people belonging to 225 groups. Of these, 358,310 live in villages, 192,000 live
in cities or 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 suggest 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 their ethnic identities 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 previously
assumed their indigenous identity.
"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 examples set by other communities,
have encouraged many of these peoples to reassume their ethnic identity," speculated
Egon Heck, Cimi's executive secretary.
Officially, Funai acknowledges the existence of 563 indigenous areas. However,
indigenous communities want 178 additional locations to be included in this list. These
are areas claimed by reemerged indigenous peoples and communities that want to expand
their villages and/or areas that have been reoccupied by indigenous populations who
previously were forced off by invaders. Considering all such cases, there are 741
identified indigenous areas in Brazil.
Reoccupation actions have been furthering the demarcation process. Last year in the
southern tip of the state of Bahia, the Pataxó were the indigenous people that most
engaged in this kind of movement. Between March and April of 2000, 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 before 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.
This report was originally published by the Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI).
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