From WolfWikis

Major Indigenous Groups

1. Amondawa

2. Arapaso

3. Awa

4. Baniwa

5. Kayapo

6. Mayoruna

7. Ticuna

8. Tupi

9. Xavante

10. Yawanana

Military Dictatorships

Between 1964 and 1985, Brazil went through a stint of different Military dictatorships. These dictatorships started after the 1964 Brazilian Coup D'etat. The last military dictatorship was under Joao Figueiredo and he was the President of Brazil from 1979-1985. Many political crisis' led to a populus uprising against the Military dictatorship of Figueiredo and by 1983, millions of Brazilians were demanding the right to vote in an election. For the first time in several decades the dictatorship had fallen and new democratic elections had finally taken place. Following these elections, Brazil began a slow process that would lead it to becoming a new democratic nation.

The Constitution of 1988

President Jose Sarney

With the first elections taking place, Tancredo Neves stood out as the popular candadite and won the election. Unfortunetly, President Neves collapsed the night before he was to be inaugurated and died. The Vice President Jose Sarney then became President and took office. President Sarney called for a completely new constitution to be written and it was finally completed in 1988. The constitution of 1988 was meant as a way for the Brazilian people to have greater rights and more freedom then they had ever had from the past military dictatorships. Thankfully this also meant that the Indigenous people who were living throughout much of Brazil and almost completely forgotten in the past would also have these rights. This constitution benefited the indigenous people like nothing had before. One part of the constitution of 1988 states that the indigenous people are to be given the right to have their different beliefs and lifestyles from the other citizens of Brazil. The head of article 231 of the Brazilian constitution states that:

"It is recognized that the indigenous peoples have the right to their social organization, 
customs, languages, beliefs and traditions, and their original rights over the lands that
they have traditionally occupied, it  being the duty of the federal government to demarcate
these lands,  protect them and ensure that all their properties and assets are respected”.  

According to the above article in the constitution of 1988, the indigenous people of Brazil were given the same rights as everyone else. These rights ranged from owning their lands to having their beliefs and customs recognized. A new stronghold for the indigenous movement had been created and the constitution had become the main backbone for the movement of the rights of the Indigenous people in Brazil.

Indigenous Rights Groups

There are over 735,000 indigenous indians living in Brazil. Due to this large number, several indigenous rights groups were formed following the creation of the new constitution. These groups include:

Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon

The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin

Coordinating Council of Indigenous Peoples and Organizations of Brazil

Indianist Missionary Council

Indigenous Council of Roraima

Union of Indigenous Nations of Acre and South of the Amazon

Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB)

The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) is one of the Brazilian indigineous rights groups. COIAB was founded on April 19, 1989 by the leaders of several smaller indigenous organizations that were already in place after the fall of the military dictatorships. The COIAB is a group that covers 31 regions in 9 states in Brazil: Amazonas, Acre, Amapa, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins. Over time it has become the largest Indigenous rights group in Brazil, covering about 60% of the total Indian population in Brazil or roughly 400,000 Indians.

Territories that The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon Covers

COIAB has several goals that it is trying to achieve regarding the advancement of the Indigenous people of Brazil. One of these goals is advancing the education that is available for the Indigenous schools in basic, intermediate and higher levels of instruction. Throughout Brazil, there are over 200 different Indigenous groups speaking more then 180 different languages, which makes the process of creating an Indigenous education system for them long and difficult.

In 2001, COIAB created a department of women in an effort to recognize and fix specific problems that indigenous women go through. This includes fighting for the rights of women, both nationally and internationally, discuss the health, education, rights, work qualifications etc. of indigenous women and create projects that support the indigenous women population. This organization, like many others, were created in order to comply with the Federal Constitution of 1988, which stated the political support for the civil liberties that the Indigenous people deserve, including its land, health , education and social organizations.

The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)

The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) is a group that works through several countries in South America. It was founded in Lima, Peru, in 1982 and has sinced moved its headquarters to Quito, Equador. Like the COIAB, the COICA is another group whose intent is "for native people to be able to defend their rights, fight for the survival of their culture, and to exchange experiences in to find solutions to their various problems". COICA focuses on the indigenous tribes that are in or around the Amazon works hand in hand with COIAB when it comes to working with the Indigenous tribes in the Amazon. So far, COICA has successfully created institutions in which the indigenous people are able to learn many of their native tongues. The greatest accomplishment that COICA has thus far though is the creation of the Amazon Indigenous University, which has continued to promote the cultures of the indigenous people of the area.

The Council for the Articulation of Indian Peoples and Organizations of Brazil (CAPOIB)

The Council for the Articulation of Indian Peoples and Organizations of Brazil (CAPOIB) stood up against the proposed changes to the Brazilian Amendment 22/91, an amendment which wanted to demarcate the lands that many indigenous tribes were living on. In 1995 they stood up against the President Fernando Enrique Cardoso who supported the change in what many thought would benefit himself.

Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI)

The Indianist Missionary Council (CIMI) is another organization that concentrates on the many struggles that most of the indigenous people in Brazil go through. The main focus of CIMI is towards the land issues that always seem to affect the indigenous people. Many times the land has been wrongfully taken from the indigenous people for other purposes and according to CIMI, "land is central for the wellbeing and survival of Brazil's indigenous population." The main purpose that CIMI defines itself as

"Driven by our faith in the gospel of life, justice and solidarity and faced with
the aggressions of the neo liberal model, we decided to intensify our support and 
presence  with indigenous peoples, communities and organizations and intervene in  
Brazilian society as their allies, strengthening the process of autonomy of these 
people in the construction of an alternative, multiethnic, popular and democratic 
project".

CIMI works closely with the Catholic church in order to benefit the indigenous people of Brazil. By using the missions work that the Catholic church focuses on and intervening with legal, executive, and judicial acts in order to stimulate different social movements. CIMI created the magazine "Porantim" in the 1970's and it has been published at the CIMI head office in the capital city of Brasilia for over 30 years. Not only is CIMI focused on the land problems that persist within the indigenous popoulation but they also help with indigenous movements, alliances, the autonomy of indigenous people, education, health, self-sustainability, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, and finally benefiting the many indians that survive in different urban centers throughout Brazil.

Jorge Milas da Silva

Jorge Miles da Silva, better known for his Indigenous name of Jorge Terena, was one of the greatest leaders for the Indigenous Movement in Brazil, including helping COIAB. Unfortunately he died unexpectedly on November 9, 2007. He was one of the founders of the Indian National Movement, fighting always for the rights of the Indigenous people who were living in the Amazon.

Annotated Bibliography

[1] - This website gave a description of many of the Indigenous groups living in Brazil. It also helped to describe the location and size of these different tribes.

[2] – The translated website for the COIAB movement that is one of the largest indigeous movements groups in Brazil. This website gave the history about COIAB as well as many Indigenous movements that are still going on now.

[3] - Text of The Constitution of 1988. This helped in finding articles that specialized in helping the Indigenous groups of Brazil.

[4] - Once again text about The Constitution of 1988. This website also gave more information about what the articles meant.

[5] - This website described COICA and what they have been able to do for the indigenous people in an effort to preserve the indigenous cultures.

[6] - This website is the main website for the Indianist Missionary Council. It includes the history of CIMI as well as pictures of this indigenous rights group in action.