Brazil has 119 indigenous groups in isolation
In Brazil, a total of 119 peoples—also known as free peoples—are recorded as living in voluntary isolation. Some of them live across 37 unprotected spaces that could be invaded at any time, which can potentially lead to their extermination.
In contrast to the research specialized organizations conduct regularly, the data on free peoples requires special treatment, as the groups classified as such bear this title because they avoid living with other groups, whether non-indigenous or from other native groups, usually due to experiences of violence that have victimized them.
The data can be found in the book Povos Indígenas Livres/Isolados na Amazônia e Grande Chaco (“Indigenous Free/Isolated Peoples in the Amazon and Gran Chaco”), launched Thursday (Mar. 13) in Brasília by the Indigenous Studies Missionary Council (CIMI), a Christian organization that works to defend the rights and autonomy of indigenous peoples, linked to the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB).
A project by CIMI’s Support Team for Free Peoples (EAPIL), the book highlights the fact that the Brazilian government’s National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) recognizes 114 of such peoples and considers only 28 of them to have had their existence proven.
In the view of one of the book’s organizers, Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) anthropologist Professor Lino João de Oliveira Neves, by failing to identify them, the government authorities show their negligence—and often their disregard for them. He pointed out that this oversight is not exclusive to Brazil and implied that, by not formally recognizing them, the government makes sure it will not have to perform any of its duties, not even those enshrined in the Constitution.
“All indigenous people in Latin America live in violence,” he argued, adding that, “some 15 to 18 years ago,” Brazil and other South American countries managed to establish some territorial protection measures for indigenous peoples.
However, he went on, “in recent years, the governments have begun to take away indigenous rights. There has been a setback in indigenous policies. This has happened not only in Brazil, but also in Peru,” he continued.
As he recalled, since 1987, Brazil has decided no longer to promote contacts between experts and indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. The decision came two years after the end of the military dictatorship (1964–1988), a period in which those in power peddled a discourse favoring the integration of native peoples.
Frontiers
Like Professor Neves, who sees the book as “a call to collective conscience,” CIMI missionary and historian Guenter Francisco Loebens, who is also among the scholars responsible for organizing the publication, is confident in the book’s potential for mobilization. He pointed out that many of these peoples are located in border regions. “This leads to a discussion about their protection and the need for cooperation between countries in devising better policies,” he argued.
Another participant in the debate held during the book launch, Daniel Aristizabal, secretary of the International Working Group for the Protection of Isolated Indigenous Peoples and Initial Contact (GTI-PIACI), praised the initiative to write the book on the subject. “It brings the debate to a regional level and gives recognition to the fact that they are living on the frontier,” he noted.
He went on to remark that there are records of free peoples in Bolivia and Paraguay, as well as in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. “There are records in India and information is already being received about possible records in Africa,” he added.
The secretary also underscored the self-determination that allows such groups to preserve the way of life they wish to follow. “It is our dream that they are allowed to remain in this condition,” he said. “We must remember these are the last peoples who are still resisting colonization.”
