VII.
BRAZIL

Source: Yves Materne, ed., The Indian Awakening in Latin America (New York: Friendship Press, 1980, 113-127).

THE ASSEMBLY OF INDIAN CHIEFS

On the initiative of the Indians and within the structure of the Native Missionary Council, the Second Assembly of Indian Chiefs was held May 8 to 14, 1975, at the Cururu Mission in the Southwest region of the State of Pará.

The host tribe was the Munduruku. About sixty Indian chiefs participated, representing the following tribes: Munduruku, Tiriyó, Kaxuyána Irantxe, Bororo, Xavante, Xerente, Tapirapé, Apiaká, Nambikwára, Kayabí, and coming from the States of Pará, Mato Grosso, Goiás and Amapá.

The cultural problems of the Indians of the tropical forest are stated in the following testimonies. These portions of the participants' comments have been translated from their Brazilian version.

THE SECOND ASSEMBLY OF INDIGENOUS CHIEFS,

THE CURURU MISSION, May 8-14, 1975

How the Assembly Came to Be

Preparations

At the regional meeting for pastoral care of the indigenous held in Belem from January 13-16, it was decided to heed the request of the Indians and to accept the proposal to go to the Second Assembly of the Indigenous Chiefs set for May 8-11 at the Cururu Mission. One condition would be transportation by FAB.* When consulted about this, General Camarao commander of the First Air Zone, agreed to provide this help. The meeting was to include Indians from the Prelacies of Macapa, Ubidos, Santarem, Guiratinga, Dimantino, Sao Felix and Maraba.

[Editor's Note: Travel difficulties encountered by the Macapas and the Cururu Mission group provide examples of the great effort necessary for Indian participants to reach the meeting place.]

Manuel, a Karipuna, traveled from his village by outboard motor boat and then by truck to Oiapoque. Geraldo came from the village on the Oiapoque River. Both boarded the Air Force plane for Belem. In Macapa, Bishop Maritano wanted to welcome the group and wish them a good meeting. They stayed overnight there because of a motor breakdown. They arrived in Belem on the seventh, where they had to wait until the tenth when General Camarao authorized a plane on the Belem-Boa Vista route to make an extra stop at Cururu.

The Delegation from the Cururu Mission

This group was made up of twenty representatives of the Munduruku villages who were accompanied by Brother Ervano, the director of the Mission, and Brother Edmundo. The Sisters helped coordinate the work. The chiefs who came the farthest spent four days traveling, two days on foot and two days by canoe. Most came with their families. The entire village showed up from some places and 850 Mundurukus, about 500 from diverse hamlets, congregated at the Mission.

The First Day of the Meeting: The actual inauguration of the meeting seemed to occur with the arrival of the plane which landed on the runway in Cururu at 11:30 with three delegations on board. A multitude of Indians--chiefs, adults and children-ran out onto the immense field. Their greetings were filled with great happiness and emotion.

The meeting had been coordinated with the sole idea in mind of facilitating the group dynamics. It was made up of Indians and missionaries. They met together between one session and another to prepare the next step.

The Mundurukus had set the location of the meeting themselves about a kilometer from the Mission headquarters. To get there, one needed to cross a small stream by canoe. The place consisted of a big straw shelter with benches made of palm wood and supports driven into the ground. It was initially thought to be a cooking and sleeping area for the participants, but it was soon resolved it would only serve as a location for the sessions.

The Second Day: In the morning, the presentations continued up through the last Indian. In the afternoon, people decided to work in small groups called "villages," each with its own name and made up of six Indians from different nations. The objective of this new group dynamic was to undertake factgathering on all the problems of the tribes in both their positive and negative aspects.

The Third Day: On this day, the Indians met privately with no whites present. The objective was to search for solutions to the problems which had been brought up. The head was of the FUNAI* post, having gone to the location with two companions, also from FUNAI, were asked by the Indians to identify themselves and were not allowed to participate inasmuch as the sessions on that day were exclusively for the Indians.

The Fourth Day: The morning sessions consisted of reports on the subjects covered on the previous day. They were recorded by those in charge of coordination. In the afternoon, in order to gain time, people held a session in the Mission park in the shadow of the mango trees. The Indians gave their evaluations of the meeting and already expressed their thanks and farewells. At the end of the afternoon, the local leaders invited all present for a meal together which consisted of meat grilled by the Indians and ground manioc. For drinks they offered a cane juicemanioc flour mixture. This had been brought by one chief from a faraway village. At night, the dances became spirited. Even the Tiriyos danced in their traditional dress to the great delight of all.

The Fifth Day: At the moment of the first chiefs' departure, the Mundurukus offered a palm-based liquor to the missionaries and the Indians in front of the house of Francisco Akai. The rest of the Indians waited for the arrival of the FAB plane.

The First, Second and Third Sessions

Presentations to One Another

Waru (a Munduruku): The priests came from far away. They want what we do. The Franciscan priests are our equals in all respects. The priests raised us. Brother Hugo and Brother Luiz took me to study a bit. Then I went back home to get married. The priests came to help us on the Cururu River. The land is our very own. We are real Brazilians. We have no mixed blood. This is really our land. The whites cannot enter. We are really tough.

Aviri (a Tiriyo) Only my father and mother lived in our hamlet. When my mother had her birth pains, I was born. My mother died. I was raised not with milk but with a cotton-cane juice and bananas. When I got big, my father took me to the Marapi River. My father died. I asked myself, "What can I do with my life?"  Farming.

I thought I was alone. Then others arrived. And they sent word for other relatives. I became chief because I was raised by the fruits of the earth.

I had never before seen the caraiba.* I only knew some Dutch and Americans. I didn't know any Brazilians. The Americans took me to the other mission in Surinam. I didn't want to be a Protestant. Later, the now-deceased (Brother) Protasio arrived. He was building civilization. He asked who I was. I said: "Owner of the land. I don't have close relatives. I became chief." Now I am reserved and a bit withdrawn. It's not like at first when I gave orders to the workers.

I like this meeting. We are everywhere under the sun. At the spring of every river, there are Indians. We are of one body. The languages are different but we are all equal-all of us. We have used the same loincloths.

The Brazilians were raised outside. They have studied. Some of us have a good head for studying. Our children, men and boys study only their own tongue. They study Portuguese only a little.

Musoko (a Kaxuyana): I will speak about my village as it was a long time ago. I didn't know the elders. When I was old enough to understand, there were already miners and businessmen. For a long time we were very poor, without knives or axes. We didn't know the priests. Only the miners. They taught us how to hunt and make salted fish. Now I see that they made cowards of us. They sold things expensively, even cane liquor. We were like children. When they told us to do something, we did it.

Then missionaries like Brother Fortunato arrived there. My oldest brother learned how to count. For us, life was good. The missionary said, "There are missions everywhere like in Cururu and Tiriyo but you don't like to go there." We didn't know how to get there. The priest said, "I will find a way. I will talk with Bishop Floristic.''

After a year, he returned with the bishop and said, "We know you are having difficulties at the hands of the blacks and the miners. You work like mules so the others can get rich while you get drenched and get sick. I'm going to telegraph Belem and ask for an airplane. Will you come with me?" He set the day and he arrived with a big plane. We put our belongings inside. We only had to board.

The Indian Awakening in Latin America

The miners came after him. They showed him bills of what we owed them. Bishop Floriano didn't trust them. He told us to get on board. We went to Obidos and then to Tiriyo. The land was ours. Thirty-nine of us arrived. Now there are 66 or 67, maybe a few more. There are also houses at the Mission.

Yananxí (an Irántxe): I agreed to come in order to get to know the people from here. As our friend was saying, the mission helps us with medicine. We don't let the whites invade our reservation. We need our area. Thus far, we are doing fine. The Mission helps save the lives of our people so we can continue to make progress in our lives. We need our area. There are many Indians in Brazil. If other Indians have land problems, we can come to your aid.

Manhuarí (a Munduruku): We were invited by the Indians from here. I am happy and satisfied to be here. I don't know if everyone is satisfied. I was born on the river bank where I am living now.

When I was old enough to understand, there were already priests: Brother Luiz, Brother Hugo-a Brazilian sister, Mother Coleta, and a German sister. My deceased father didn't know how to read or write. He was an Indian. My mother was civilized.

Through the intercession of Brother Luiz and Brother Hugo, I came here. I studied a bit. I didn't learn very well. There were few classes. I was already a teenager. I'm not smart. I write. I occasionally pray for everyone. I am happy with these priests. They are fathers.

Txibáibou (a Bororo): I am a neighbor of the Xavantes. I am the chief of our lands. My father, Eugenio Aidji, was general chief. We accepted the invitation of the Xavantes, the Tapirapás and the Bororos as a sign of unity. We are all Brazilians. We are more Brazilian than the civilized man. We are the legitimate sons of this land. We have every right to have a piece of this earth. They wish to put an end to us. We should study how to defend ourselves against the whites. We have hope of conquering the big farmers.

The whites consider the Indian an animal, but we are people just like them. We have a body. We have a soul. We know how to think. We should trust in the priests who defend us. They even give their lives for us. Our problem is land. We, like Pedro the Xavante, have had many fights with the big farmers. We are here to learn how to defend our reservation. One will help the other learn how to do this.

Wairotsú (a Xavante): I will represent my tribe. I am not the chief. The chief is still in Brasilia. For seven years, we have been fighting to gain only a little bit. The white man is occupying everything. Because of this, we cut off just a little bit for ourselves in order to be able to hunt, to fish, to live and to build another village. Many big farmers don't wish to leave. They don't want to leave even when the police go to their houses. They say they don't want to leave. Nevertheless, we are going to fight. Brazil used to be full of people, of Indians who lived all over.

Together with our neighbors,the Bororos, we are fighting. About six months or one year ago, we went to visit another Xavante village. We arrived at night. Suddenly news came that trouble was going to break out there where I was. The whites were going to attack. We were going to attack too. No one had the courage to go in. We called for help from Cuiaba. Soldiers and police came armed with revolvers, machineguns and cannons. Do you know what a cannon is?

The missionaries helped us. They traveled the whole night to prevent trouble from breaking out. Our director traveled to prevent trouble from breaking out. They still haven't delivered land to the Indians. The legal decision was already made. All that is lacking is money for indemnization.

I wished to tell you these things so you will know what we are suffering in the defense of our people. The missionaries are giving us their lives and their knowledge. Because the white man keeps on increasing, the Indian falls into an abyss. We can become better friends, getting to know Indians from other tribes.

Sampré (a Xerente): My brothers: I call you brothers because I am an Indian. I am a brother of the same color. We suffer the same massacre. I have the same blood. The reception was a surprise, like I would imagine for some important authority. I had a desire to withdraw myself. I needed to control myself - I was greatly shocked when I saw the reception-the children running about happily. I know many villages where I see much poverty. Here cars enter the villages.

I only know about the priests preparing sermons. I didn't know about the priests defending Indians. Here I have seen the law that they stand for and defend. The Xavantes, the Karakatis and others need the same thing-a drill to dig a hole and remove water. Only with the cry of voices will CIMI* and the Mission have power. CIMI waits for your approval.

Txuaeri (a Tapirape): I came here in order to find out how the lives of the Indians are. We do not have land. We have some housing and farmland but they are taking away our land. The land is not marked off.

I didn't want to come. I have to build my house. Who will do it now? I was making flour in order to pay for the macaw of Fr. Tomas. I said, "I don't think I will go." Marco (the chief) said, "It's set. You are going." "But I don't know how to speak." He told me to talk about our land which is not marked off.

FUNAI was there. Then it went away. It didn't help us. Marco said to see that the Indians from here get their land marked off. No, our land is not marked off. We just work the farmland.

Tauhé (a Munduruku): My dear priests and Indian friends, I am also an Indian. My father was a Munduruku. I studied at the school of the priests. I learned to write and count a little. I am very satisfied with those here among us and the Munduruku. who came a long way. I traveled one day from my house, about half the way by canoe.

Nasau (a Tiriyo The chief of the Mission spoke about our mission. At first, they didn't like anyone from outside. They mistreated and hurt strangers. They didn't like anyone to come to their village. Then the missionaries arrived. They didn't like them either. Brother Protasio learned their language and then taught in their language. Now they like everyone. They will fight together with us.

Piry (an Apiaka): I have come at the invitation of our fellow countrymen. There are Indians here I didn't know. I have come to study our problems. We cleared five alqueires* of land to make a pasture for the cattle and thus to have milk for our children. Milk is very expensive. There are few of us in the forest. The elders lived there. They built fires in the forest where they took their women. The forest people are still cut off from us.

Datxe (a Munduruku): I know all the old hamlets. I know these rivers. Wherever you live in the future, take care of them. I went to work with the priests. I built my house here. They gave medical treatment to my daughter. When I was helping the mission cutting rubber trees, the priests couldn't come out there. The water is very cold if one goes on foot. After awhile, they got used to it.

Borum (a Munduruku): I studied here. I have come to get to know new Indians.

Axikarugaua (a Nambikwara): I can speak out. We have tongues and we can speak out. I am the chief of everything, even the jaguar. The priest didn't know that. Iasi didn't know that. I don't want Indians mixing with whites.

I went with an American to get to know Paranatinga. I got to know all of it. People there don't know Indians. They think we are forest people. We are people. You can't chase us. Arms scare us. So we run. Not to run after others. We are people. They attack us like cattle.

Yupareipo (a Kayabi Excuse me. I will speak a little. I came here at my brother's invitation. Ships came looking for cashews. I spoke the language but little. I was raised in Paranatinga, a civilized setting. Now I know the language. I have come here to get to know others.

In the old times, it was like this: We didn't have axes. There were rocks but we didn't have fire. At first, we were pagans. Now we are civilized, baptized. Our Father is in heaven. A long time ago, I had a father. I didn't know my mother. I grew up in Paranatinga.

At first, I didn't know the civilized people. But how can one live without tools? My father sent word asking for me to stay with him. I got to know my father. I worked everyplace. Once there was a rough guy, an Indian canoeman. I went with the priest to calm him down. Now I know the priest. He wants everyone to be friends. He comes to my house and I give him food. We don't have drinks but I give him food.

A new farmer showed up and I went after him. Now the Japanese doesn't come around any more. He ridiculed us.

I ordered the FUNAI employee not to mess around with us. They can't quiet us. We are entering into the midst of the civilized people. Now we are Christian. Now we are baptized. We don't make trouble. Father Joao speaks out. One's father acts this way.

Hakai (a Munduruku, translated by Floriano): Dear friends: He said that he and his oldest brother Hilario are village Indians. He said FUNAI wished to enter there by force to take the land from the village. They decided not to let FUNAI take the village. It wasn't the priests' decision. He said, "We Indians agreed not to let FUNAI enter among us." They work, deliver produce here and buy what they need. The priests treat them well. They also treat the priests well. They have fields of coffee and oranges.

Sampre (a Xerente): I was very pleased to know that our brothers did not approve of FUNAI They don't give the help that the priests give. When the Indian understands the situation, when he goes to Brasilia, FUNAI says, "This Indian is a trickster. He's worthless." You went to invite our countrymen from the FUNAI post but they wouldn't let them come. I have seen things there that don't exist at any other post.

I'm going to return to my village of Funil since I know there is a sister there. FUNAI doesn't let a priest go into the village. Our companion here (referring to a journalist) is going to spread this about publicly, but I will speak out. This meeting is a powerful means to plant what is dry so that it will grow.

Txuaeri (a Tapirape): I think the land of the Munduruku is marked off. There are priests here. It looks like three or four priests. There is no priest back there. Only FUNAL We asked FUNAI to order us wire. They didn't order any because with wire they keep the land for themselves.

So in Takana we're only thinking. We are wondering what to do. We were coming to an end. A long while ago, there were only two houses. Now they have increased. We need land.

The farmers don't like us. When Father Francisco (Jentel) was around, it was also like this. The farmers took land from the squatters. People said they needed to spread fear so the Tapirapes would want to kill the squatters. We had nothing to do with the fighting. But if they killed, we killed. There were many of us. Now we are coming to an end.

The police came to our village. A boat full of them. Marco said that if the police came, we shouldn't run. The police landed. Everyone went to see what they wanted. The Tapirape Indian doesn't go into the village of another armed. The Indian is not an animal. Isn't one chasing a pig if he goes about armed?!

I have come here to check things out. There's no one taking care of my wife and no father for the children. There's only the mother but she's sick.

The Fourth and Fifth Sessions

Work in Groups

The village of Ue (Capivara)

The participants: Xerente, Bororo, Munduruku and Nambikwdra

The Xerente said that we all suffer from the same massacre. The civilized people invade, killing our children. We have no support. FUNAI doesn't defend us. People let cattle loose all over the land of the Indians. The Sister is at the village of Funil. The oldest curers are dying off. The young ones don't have the knowledge the old ones had.

Even the police of Tocantinia, mounted on horses, attacked the Indians. Other Indians of the region also suffer defenselessly. When people arrive, the Indian is already dead. FUNAI doesn't pay for the hospital. This is the way people live in the Xerente region. Now they've created a reservation there. The Inspector from Belem (the regional delegate of FUNAI) doesn't pay attention to us there because he says we belong to another district.

I'm going to get far away from FUNAI and I'm going to the Mission. I've already suffered a lot from the SPI.* The Xerente have feasts and dances-the feasts of yam, of honey, of the cutting of the hair. They have their own language. When they return from hunting, they don't collapse and rest right away but they wait for the arrival of the old curer. Thus, they relax slowly while the old curer sings and prays to God.

When a son is born, they go on a diet. The father doesn't eat cassava porridge. He doesn't kill snakes. He doesn't collect feathers. Only after spreading honey on his face does he eat honey. When someone dies, he cries.

When the Indian is about to travel, people join with him and sing and cry with him. He will leave in this manner if he is going a long way. When he returns, there is another feast of joy-because he went and he returned. When the moon is pretty, everyone sings. They sing with heads lowered. Only the chief looks at the moon.

Every full moon, we sing and celebrate. But ever since civilization came, we have suffered tremendously. The flu, which we never had in past times, came. The curers are no longer able to cure. Tuberculosis is what most afflicts the Xerente today.

Comes another day and they go hunting again. One hunts here, another there. My son also goes hunting. The other day he killed a deer. So they called me and brought it to the house. We called people together and divided the hunt with all the village. We prepared chicha and drank.

There is plenty of work. There are a reed plot, six plots of farmland, a huge clearing and a place for rice. We are losing out on this because we don't have sacks. We want to make flour to sell. We wear loincloths and ornaments on our arms and legs. In the past, there was still enough for everyone.

We used medicines from the forest, but there is nothing to deal with the sickness of the civilized man. We tried medicines from the forest but they don't help. We asked the priest to arrange some medicine for the sicknesses of the civilized people. Now we have it. There is a cooperative. This year there was no big sickness. That's good.

There is a group farther down which doesn't want to come out. The white man is crowding in. At Serra Azul, they want to kill the white man. I will look for whites on the road. The priest is going together with us to Serra Azul to talk with the people there.

The Mundurukus plant rice, collect honey, build fires, make food and then eat. They prepare coffee and manioc pap and they hunt. They plant corn, potatoes, yams, manioc and bananas. They prepare cassava flour and manicuera.* They celebrate with dances.

The village of Kenebit Taibiripka (Muricizal)

The participants: only Munduruku Indians

Translating into Portuguese what was said by the participants, Floriano, an Indian, said: These people here are more used to the priests. FUNAI doesn't supply goods to them. The village of Cabrua is more tied to FUNAI and people from there go all over doing business to Jacareacanga and other places. We have no complaint about the priests, since we were raised by them. Coffee is all I'm lacking. I planted a lot of it but it dried up.

In my hamlet, I live together with my wife, children and other relativesmore than 38 persons. And now I'm teaching the boys because I want well-educated boys. Later, they will come to study at the mission. I have little money but it's enough to live on. Although other Indians are far away, the Mission doesn't forget them. When they are sick, the Indians send word for them to come.

The Ant village

The participants: Tapirapé, Irántxe, Munduruku, Tiriyó and Kaxuyána

Work is going well for the Irántxe under the guidance of the Mission. The priests send for medicines but the group organizes itself without the white people. The school is working. We ourselves fixed it up. We like the mass which the priest says every now and then. The priest isn't in charge of the farm work. The chief directs this work.

We have to move forward on our own. The priest calls attention to certain problems. Demarcation of the area has been promised. It's necessary to have the title in hand because that brings more security. We already have it. We have problems with the farms. They surround the reservation. We raise cattle to eat because there's no place to hunt. When work ends, we celebrate with five flutes. We are making efforts to return to the old feasts, and to preserve our ornaments and arrows.

The Tiriyos plant vegetables for their households and families near the mission. They raise pigs and chickens. The group lives happily. On Sundays, there is mass. At night, we play and drink. Today they are doing all right. In the past, there was no recourse. Today there is medicine and a pharmacy. Only a doctor is lacking.

What's bad is for people to ask for something and then not pay. They ask for knives, axes and even hammocks but don't pay. It's a bad thing to fool others. People have to speak honestly.

FUNAI doesn't exist there--only FAB, the missionary and a nurse approved by the government. A school was established by the priest, but at the moment there are neither students nor teachers.

The Kaxuyanas planted bananas and sugar cane because they had nothing to eat when they arrived. Only the missionaries had something. They have many children and they're doing all right. They raise chickens and pigs. They buy and sell at the Mission. They plan to make a little chapel and a bigger piece of farmland. They have lived with the Tiriyos for seven years and are doing fine. They haven't stopped dancing and singing. They do this when all work stops between October and December-just like the vacations of the whites. The younger Indians don't make ornaments but they still make their own instruments-a kind of drum, an instrument made out of a turtle shell.

A Munduruku stated: We are doing fine at the Mission. We planted the fields with rice, sugar cane and bananas. We didn't deal with the SPI. We also got rid of the people from FUNAI who were going to make a second post. When they said they were going to bring a new chief, we said, "Let him come, but we will kick him out." The land is ours but there are no boundaries or title. We know quite well what FUNAI is and what it does.

All goods are traded at the Mission. The school is going well. The teacher is not an Indian. All the medicine is provided by the priest. There are many people undergoing treatment. There are cattle but they are the priests'. Only the chickens and pigs are ours.

The village of Cigana Lake

The participants: Xavante, Kayabi, Munduruku, Tiriyó

Concerning the problem of land, the Xavante said that their land is staked out and they have the title in hand. However, there are still a lot of squatters who want to freeload. Indemnization by the trespassers is being put off and that delays eviction. They don't want a road cutting through their reservation. It was begun but they managed to make them stop construction. The road would divide the land and the group. The people who use the road bring sickness. They upset and exploit the Indians because they want to buy things too cheaply. And those whites who are up to no good want to bother the women of the Indians. "So we kicked all the whites off the reservation as soon as we could, not permitting but combating, by all possible means, construction of the road."

The Kayabi said: There is good land and plenty of it but it is not yet marked off. Demarcation was promised by the end of May. We are still waiting. There are no squatters on the lands. There are only some questions concerning the Japanese.

The village of Biu

The participants: only Munduruku

At times, people have fever, malaria and dysentery. When we get sick, we seek medicine from FUNAI We have six families. I have five children. There are more or less fifty people-some twenty children. In the old times, we had feasts. We are not worried about school. I studied until third grade.

Speaking for Sauretian, he went on to say: He came to go to the celebration and to see the people from far away. The people who used to live here a long time ago were the Caiapo. Many lived here. Then they separated. When they went into the forest, they turned to war and killing. Many of our people died.

Another chief said: I came in place of my father because he went to Belem. Only we-my father, mother, brother and I-live there. I have three children. We have some farmland. We planted a lot of coffee and bananas. I worked the land alone. I also built the house. It took three months to build. We live on the lake right here. There are many tucunare* in the summer. I catch them with bait. I hunt with weapons. I use arrows only for fish.

Sad said that the Mundurukus of the Mission have no more feasts. Not even for initiations or weddings. Not even when people die. They only cry.

Krixi works on carpentry with the priests. He makes tables and dressers. Four of his seven children are in school.

"No one writes in Munduruku," said Amancio. "There is an American who hands out books in Munduruku. Every now and then, he comes here to visit FUNAI and the Mission. Some people from the Mission work at the Company. They go in a small airplane. It's a one-hour trip. They stay one to three months. Both single and married men go. Those who went are enjoying it."

The village of Sao Francisco

The participants: Apiaká and Munduruku

For the Apiakás, everything with regard to land is fine. They are waiting for it to be marked off next month. The Mundurukus don't have an exact idea of the limits of their land. They are not marked off.

The Apiakas understand the money and use it. They produce rubber and cashews. They don't work on the outside. They do business with the Mission.

The Mundurukus don't understand the money well, although they use it. They produce flour, sorb, cashews, tapioca and handicrafts. They have no cattle.

As far as health goes, there are no problems among the Apiakas and the Mundurukus. The Apiakas have people in the village who know how to give an injection and administer the medicines which are furnished by the Mission through the post of the Kayabi. When the Mundurukus get sick, they run off to the Mission. Nobody in the villages knows how to give an injection. There is no medicine.

For more than a year, the Apiakas have had no teacher. They are looking for one. The Mundurukus have a school at the Mission, but the teacher is from the outside. Children from other villages come to study at the Mission. They stay in the houses of relatives. Adults receive no instruction. They want to learn to understand money and how to count, even if they never learn how to write.

The Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Sessions

A Private Meeting of the Chiefs to Seek Out Solutions

The Ninth and Tenth Sessions

Reports on the Private Meeting

Txibaibou (a Bororo): We were invited by the Mundurukus to study our problems and ways of improving things. Today we will speak about what we discussed yesterday. Will we speak good or will we speak ill? We will only speak the truth for we are meeting in good faith.

Sampre (a Xerente): I bid farewell to my friends at the meeting. I came in good faith. I came to gain nothing-only the transportation. What we need to resolve our problems is the power of unity. We are suffering. I asked my Munduruku brothers not to vacillate and to stay united. I asked God not to discourage us in our suffering.

I need the will power to return to the village of Funil. I will go there to try harder to make us strong. Our suffering began with, the first ship which landed in Brazil. In the village of Funil, the land is marked off. They (FUNAI) don't accept a priest there but there is a sister. With God's blessing may the Mission come and resolve the question of the land.

Ward (a Munduruku): We Indians are united-the Mundurukus, the Xavantes, all these colleagues. When you return to your land, you will feel it. We are wishing you well. The missionary priests came to help us improve things here. The same is true for you. Our grandparents were warriors. They held these lands at the cost of great pain. Now we arc the Munduruku Indians.

We ourselves are scattered about. We are here in the countryside at the hamlet of Karakupi. Back then, we still used a rock to make tapioca cake. In that period, we didn't use flour yet. It took a lot of work to heat up that rock. We used to make tapioca cake that way.

Hakai (a Munduruku): School. We have two children in school. They know how to read and write. One is well advanced. I didn't learn well. I can't be of much help any more. It would be better if I had studied more.

Yotobimainbe (a Munduruku): On this last day, I shall speak a little. It is a moving experience to see people come from so far. I had not known all the priests before. The two of us-Chico and I-are getting our people to help make our land secure. I have called the people together. Helping like this is fine, but not alone. The old people, everyone has done it.

We abandoned our pottery but not the bows and arrows. We use sacks made of palms which were formerly used to catch fish. Everyone, including the women and children, goes fishing. When everyone is back, we call people to eat. When we are finished eating, we have some xibe* or something else. This is the last day before you go away tomorrow. As a companion, I really regret this.

Yupareipo (a Kayabi My namesake invited us here. I said that we would stay here on the land, in the forest. The civilized man lives in the countryside. We are now taking hold of our land. Because of this, FUNAI gives us little help. The white man cannot come onto the land. The boss of the poor farmworkers went away and has never returned. His people could only suck their thumbs.

We have good land. FUNAI has guaranteed us our land. The priest is helping in this matter. We do a lot of farming. It provides food for our children. We are healthy. At first, we had no nurse. They said the white man wanted to take the land away and he could take it any way he wanted to, whether or not the land was cleared. Now we have begun to bring our cattle together for the community.

Piry (an Apiaka): All of us-relatives, friends and missionaries-have met in order to bring ourselves together. But we cannot stay together. We each have our own place of work. On my land, I planted three times in the same place. Then I planted grass for the cattle. We have cane but we don't yet have tools to make honey. We know how to make brown sugar.

Yananxi (an Irantxe): We have come a long way and have met with friends. We have come to learn about the problems of other Indians, about those who have land problems. We have come and we have seen that there are land problems due to the white man. For some, there is not much of a problem. But for other Indians, we have seen that the problems are great. We have come to learn about the problems of these others.

Axikarugaua (a Nambikwara): My colleagues. Everything is going well here but we have nothing. We want two priests, two sisters and a school. I have thought about it and I think that the priests and sisters don't like us. The Brother doesn't like us. We go to Utiariti to get medicine so we can treat ourselves. Now the priest has talked with the farmer about the land. There is space here. You would think we are animals. We are real people.

Nasau (a Tiriyo; interpreted by a Kaxuyana Indian): I will explain what the chief said yesterday. Concerning the land, the chief first wanted to know names, how many chiefs there were, if people obeyed, if they worked collectively in order to clear the land quickly and generally if everything was going well. As a chief, it is his role to counsel against fighting and desiring the women of others. He gives advice. He governs only in personal matters.

Our Mission is not very useful to him. The countryside is generally not very good for planting. But the forest is very good. If there was a way to get there by land and canoe, he would like to invite the chiefs from here for a visit. But there are no motorboats or airplanes going there.

Their elders had nothing-neither tools nor axes. They only fought, speaking ill of others. Now he understands better. Jesus Christ died for our sins.

Musoko (a Kaxuyana): I spoke a little bit about our work. We have no cashews. We only hunt and plant some things which the Mission pays for. Our machines are not yet all installed. Everyone already knows how to read a little. We understand money. At first, we didn't. Brother Bento showed us. Now we know. There are no miners there. Our land is still free. The white man doesn't go there. I don't know what it will be like from here on in.

Txuaeri (a Tapirape): I came in place of the chief. I don't speak well. It is enough to be understood a bit. In the village, there is nothing. Only us. All we have are a few cows. The chief is telling us to make a big clearing and to buy a tractor. Rice sells well there.

In the past, we had no axes. To knock down a big jatoba, we burned the roots until they dried up and it fell down. The priest, who went to the village, brought salt and brown sugar. We threw all the clothes out. Now we use clothes. We have nothing now and no priest-only a sister, poor like us. She helps give out medicine. FUNAI offers little help in sending people to the hospital.

Tauhe (a Munduruku): Dear priests, yesterday Sauretian spoke about his village. He said that he didn't know there would be a meeting. He came a long way to do business. When he arrived here, he met our friends and colleagues. He is very happy to see them. But there is one important thing he said about those who drink a lot and don't like it. Why don't they stop drinking?

His father was also an Indian. I also spoke about my village. I am living well. Since I'm in charge of planting, I have everything-manioc, rice, potatoes, pineapples. We raise only pigs. We have twenty head there. I am teaching people to see if we can move things forward. I don't know much about reading material. I grew up here. I was baptized in 1917. That's all I talked about.

Manhuari (a Munduruku): Well, my dear listeners, the one who spoke about the village of Pratati was Hugo Hakai. He is living well in his village but they have no one to teach reading and writing because they don't have sons or daughters who know how to read. Nor does he know how to read. He wants to see if he can find someone. He doesn't want white people Neither he nor I will accept a white person. We ourselves should do this work.

Now, let me speak for myself about our village. I am the owner there. I was born on that river. It was I who went there to clear the place open. I have worked the place since 1961.

I have a son who works for me. He works a lot and he works well. My daughter is the one who teaches. We have nothing like books or notebooks but my daughter has some of her own books. We need help with books and catechisms. We need the help of a teacher.

I am doing fine. Last year, I worked very little. We cleared 120 square meters of land. We need at least one cow. Chico here and I are going to buy it through the Franciscan priests. My sons, grandson and great grandsons are going to buy it. If I said anything incorrectly, excuse me.

Krixi (a Munduruku): I went to work and was picking many cashews when a snake there bit my wife. I left everything behind there, including the cashews. Then we arrived here at the Mission. That was good. The Sister treated my wife. That was two months ago. The priests are very good to us. I am not very happy because my wife is still sick.

Krixi (a Munduruku): I came here to attend this meeting. I was invited. I came a long way. I am very satisfied. I have spoken little but truthfully. I have spoken in slang. I hope everyone is satisfied with me.

Kabuibe (a Munduruku): I came to get to know people whom I had not known or did not understand. I like this a lot. There's another thing needed in my village. There are many children. I have two children who can teach the others. But there is little food there. It is far from the riverside and there isn't time to fish. I return from the farmland late at night. I need poultry. If the Sister gives me a pig, I will accept it.

Sareabui (a Munduruku): I spoke about the issue of health. I accepted the invitation of the chiefs here. I was very happy to see the priests, the sisters and all the Indians-people of the same blood. But I'm not happy about my wife being sick. For some cases of sickness, I need medicine in the village.

Ikupi (a Munduruku): I spoke about the old customs and the old instruments. No one is letting go of the old instruments and the horns. No one repudiates those things. We used to make clay pottery. These days not many people know how to do that. It's the same thing with hammocks. My mother-in-law knows how to make them. The Tapakura also know how. We trade with the Mission and provide them with hammocks.

Hakai (a Munduruku): I have come here to get to know my Indian companions and the missionary priests. The elders didn't abandon the parecei-a flute instrument. I will continue with it. I know how to play the parecei. I know how to play a piece of wood. I continue to play it and to dance. I have three such wooden instruments. Women cannot look at them.

Silvio (a Munduruku): I shall speak. Let us stop drinking cane liquor. There's no point in our drinking so much. I wasn't born here. Now I'm working at the Mission sawing wood. The priests are good. I don't want the priests and the sisters to leave here.

Burum (a Munduruku): Yesterday I spoke about everybody. We will stay peaceful. There are many people who drink too much, people who fight. I don't like these fighters. They make a lot of noise.

Poultry is lacking. Perhaps the priests can arrange a couple of pigs. I have no son to fish. When I return from work, I still must go fishing.

Wayrotsu (a Xavante): If I had anything significant to tell them yesterday, it was about the Statute of the Indians. In it are recorded crimes against the Indians. We do not live only for the present. We live for tomorrow. We can pass on to our children knowledge about progress. I spoke about the culture of the Indians.

The whites cannot accuse us. They cannot play around with our culture. If the white man offers us cane liquor, he should go to jail because this causes us harm. It is bad for the Indians. If he abuses our women, he can go to jail. They (the other Indians) cannot read the newspaper so I told them about these things. What is important is our life, our customs. We cannot let these things go in order to take on the ways of the white man. We have everything. We must not lose it.

We must remember not to lose our customs. Otherwise, ruin and destruction will put an end to the Indian-because the way we live is what we are; because we cannot live among the whites. We do not live only for the present. We need a floor under our feet, a piece of land-not all the land; only a piece of it. We asked the President of FUNAI for help with granting land. We are waiting for him to fulfill his promise.

It has been this way for many years. Our life is short. I have already heard so many things. I heard they're going to grant the land at the end of the month. Let's see. If they don't, we will go to Brasilia. The newspaper says that the patience of the Indian is short.

Muitok (a Munduruku): I came here with my wife sick. She was very sick. The sisters are very good. They treated her and she got well. I wanted medicine for my wife. The sisters gave it to me and she got better.

Krixi (a Munduruku): I came here to get to know our relatives. I came to this meeting of our colleagues who came such a long way with great anticipation. I work to help the Mission and the Mission helps us. Since I was little, I have been working at the Mission with the Franciscan priests. I don't know how to speak Portuguese. My mother explains things to me. She was brought up in the convent of the nuns. She studied before she married.

Daxte (a Munduruku): Pardon me. I am nothing. I am not the chief. I am the captain. I came a long way to make some purchases from the Franciscan priests. I also came to ask the sisters for some medicine. The missionaries are also very good. They are all good. I have come from the village of Muricu. I was invited from there. We came out of good will. We have a lot of work to do but we took a break for this. If we hadn't done this, it would have been a shame for us-especially for the captain.

Atanasio (a Munduruku): My father is our chief. I am taking the place of our father. We live on the side of Big Lake. Only we have families there. We do everything-farming and hunting.

Sau (a Munduruku): I am not the chief. The chief, who wasn't able to come, is my father-in-law. I have enjoyed seeing people from outside.

Manoel (a KariPuna): My friends, just a few words. As a friend of the Brazilian Indians, I feel very satisfied. I thought it was very good to get to know and to unite with others. As for myself, I am not against the white man. We cannot hinder the progress of the nation. But we need to mark off the land to avoid troubles. When we can't say, "This is mine and this is yours," we can't fight with the civilized people. It was a great pleasure to get to know everyone. For us, this is great progress.

Geraldo (a Galibi): My friends, our brothers. I didn't know these brothers of ours before arriving here in the middle of South America. I have enjoyed learning about our needs. There have been many promises but nothing happens. I go asking for medicine from the chief of the post. He says, "We have none." "Where is it?" He sold it to the white man.

There are many civilized people. They are given preference over us. Our grandparents always talked about many races of our people, but we never expected to meet them. Civilization shouldn't go about things this way. This is why the white man doesn't want to teach us.

Once you begin something, you must complete it. The civilized man, chasing after cash, pushes us onto the poor land. We are the owners of the land-not the men who came from far away, from the other side of the ocean, including the black slaves from Africa. They are rich with our riches.

Aviri (a Tiriyo): I don't understand. They remove the Indians but the land is big and there are many rivers-the Marapi and the Trombeta. There are other tribes, the Tuyanana and others I don't know. At first, we lived together. My grandfather talked about many tribes. Then they scattered all about. I don't know where they were from.

Now I am at the Mission. At first, I didn't have clothes. Now that I have come here, I have begun to use clothes. Brother Angelico recommends we don't abandon the old things. At first, I didn't know what clothes-shirts, shoes and things-were. So I didn't use them. What about land? I lived in another place. Others lived here and there. I advised people not to be wandering about. They stayed put. Then more men arrived. There is no problem with land-only far away with the Guyanese and the blacks of Surinam.

Nasau (a Tiriyo, pointing to a map he drew on the ground): We love the land that is really our own. There are villages here and a Mission here. This land-up to the Marapi--we want for ourselves. We don't want them to hunt on the other side of the Marapi. The cattle are invading the land. (The cattle are not from Brazil.) The Mission is bringing the cattle together. The cattlemen have abused us. They have come as far as the Mission. The Dutch want only to abuse the women of others. Because of this we don't want them on our land. The blacks came and contracted Indians to work outside. While the Indians are gone, they abuse the women.

Hakai (a Munduruku): I am working at the post. I collect rubber latex. I am a bit sick. It's not good to work planting everything-the sweet potatoes, the manioc, the bananas-and to build houses and to get wood and grass for thatching the roofs.

Txibaibou (a Bororo): We are facing many problems. I proposed we have a meeting of all the Indians once or twice a year. We asked the help of the Mission and of FUNAI in improving things for the Indians. FUNAI has yet to help.

I feel badly about these massacres we hear about over the radio-the mistreatment, the loss of land, the roads, the evacuations. We are people like the white man. We are not much different. We know less; they deal with cannons and airplanes. The police send people to protect the white man but not the Indian, The authorities are ready to send police when there is trouble with the Indians to punish them. When the Indian is mistreated, the police don't show up-or, if they do, it is with much difficulty.

FUNAI is there to protect the health of all. They should help everyone equally, as they do the whites. They should defend all and not look after only one more-advanced group. The missionaries are defending the Indians, but FUNAI should be doing it. The priests were not supposed to help the Indians but they help better than FUNAI does.

Ties with the white man are not good. We can be civilized yet remain Indians. We can live in our villages and not stop being Indians. We were the first on these lands here-not us, but our grandparents. To be an Indian has a different meaning. To displace the Indian is to torment and kill him. We must honor the Indian. He is not an animal. The Indian is sensible. To displace the Krenakarores is a crime. (The Galibi interrupted, saying, "When the Portuguese landed in Bahia, they met our people. We didn't have tails! We weren't cattle! But we are treated like the blacks treat the cattle.") Those who don't have land problems yet will have them. They need first of all to have guarantees. To build a road through a village is a crime. Why don't they go around it? Brazil is very big. This is sad.

The Eleventh Session

The Evaluation and Farewell

At the farewell session, 27 Munduruku Indians expressed their satisfaction with having held the assembly in their area because it allowed them to get to know other Indians. They thanked those who came a long way, and the Mundurukus from other villages. Almost everyone said, "We wish to have another meeting in another place." Hakai said he hopes to have a new meeting in Sao Paulo or even in Germany. The Nambikwaras wanted it in Sao Paulo or Rio Grande do Sul-I'm not sure, even up above the sky! Upon leaving here, they said they were very sorry to break up. Some prayed for God's blessing for all the participants.

Txibaibou (a Bororo) said: What was discussed must not remain mere words. Each one should return to his village and put it into practice with God's help. Without God, we can do nothing. For us another meeting would be best at the end of the year because of boarding school.

Wayrotsu (a Xavante): I thank you for my tribes because not many could come. Thanks for the ideas you offered. This way the tribes will develop more. First I thank the chiefs, then the others. I thank everyone.

Yananxi (an Irantxe): Thank God. Many whites do not know God. We are happier now. Each one should go to his own locale so our tribes can progress.

Musoko (a Kaxuyana): This was an opportunity to get to know the Mission. I liked the meeting of the chiefs. Only the chiefs can make the invitations for another meeting. Thank you very much!