INDIAN WISDOM
„If you have identified a problem and do nothing to solve it,
you yourself are part of the problem.“
THE SITUATION TODAY
320 indigenous peoples live in harmony with nature
The Amazon Indians know their rainforest. They only take what they need to live from nature. But gold prospectors and large landowners continue to exploit the Amazon region. In search of arable land, rare woods or gold, they penetrate further and deeper into the Indian territories, destroying the livelihoods of Brazil's indigenous peoples the actual Brazilians. The indigenous peoples of the Amazon know their rainforest. They only take from nature what they need to live. But gold miners and large landowners are exploiting the Amazon more and more. In search of farmland or gold, they are encroaching further and further into indigenous territories and threatening the existence of Brazil's indigenous peoples.
Around 320 different indigenous peoples live in Amazonia. These indigenous people need the rainforest because it gives them everything they need to live. The forest not only provides them with food, burning and building material, but also offers many medicines with its numerous medicinal plants. If the Amazon rainforest is destroyed, these indigenous peoples lose their livelihood.
... and we, too, are being destroyed. Slowly but surely, because the primeval forest is also our livelihood: The Amazon plays an essential role in carbon capture.
Indian tribe from the Kral Kalapalo of the Xingu tribe
HISTORY OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BRAZIL
marked by brutality, slavery, violence, disease and genocide
500 years ago, the encounter with Europeans marked a cultural rupture and a drastic decline in the population. At the turn of the 20th century, there were only 100,000 indigenous people left. Today, the population is estimated at 800,000 throughout Brazil. This population increase doesn't mean that the problems have disappeared. The loss of indigenous lands, the aggression to which they are subjected and political and economic pressures are ever-present threats...
In 1988, the Brazilian Constitution granted rights to indigenous peoples. Today, many politicians backed by the big landowners want to change the law to the detriment of the indigenous people..
HISTORY OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BRAZIL
The history of indigenous peoples in the Amazon begins at least 13,000 years ago. Over the centuries, these peoples have moulded the forests and domesticated dozens of plants.
LOCATION AND CULTURAL AREAS
Classification of Indian groups and ethnic groups
Indigenous ethnic groups have been classified in various ways. Since the 1920s and 1930s, classification according to cultural areas, as recommended by the American ethnologists Wissler, Kroeber, Murdock and Steward, has been common. In 1097, Eduardo Galvão established the 11 areas. Belonging to a language family is also a factor in classifying different ethnic groups. In Brazil, there are more than 180 indigenous languages.
Cultural areas:
- Nord-Amazonien
- Juruá-Purus
- Guaporé
- Tapajos-Madeira
- Alto Xingu
- Tocantins-Xingu
- Pindaré-Gurupi
- Paraguay
- Paraná
- Tieté-Uruguay
- Nordeste
FUTURE AND CHALLENGE
Big tasks ahead to secure the future of Amazonia
Big tasks ahead to secure the future of Amazonia
The most important challenge for the future of the Amazon will probably be to exploit its natural resources in a sustainable way, i.e. without destroying the environment. For example, by replanting trees. Brazil's Amazonian population is 30 million people. More than 60 per cent live in cities. Economic planning is therefore essential to avoid marginalising part of this population.
Throughout history, indigenous peoples have shown us that it is possible to live in large cities. The time has come to involve indigenous people in the management of the Amazon.