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PRESENT SITUATION   

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PRESENT SITUATION

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The two Indigenous Posts maintained by the FUNAI in this area (Apinajé and São José) are under the jurisdiction of the ADR[Regional Delegacy] of Araguaína (TO). The São José Indigenous Post assists the village of the same name (the largest Apinajé village and headquarters of the Indigenous Post, with a population of 591 people), besides the villages of Patizal (38 inhabitants), Buriti Comprido (43 inhabitants) and Cocalinho (60 inhabitants). These villages are situated to the east of the indigenous area. A head of the FUNAI post coordinates the work of assisting these three villages. The Apinajé Indigenous Post assists the villages of Mariazinha (headquarters, with a population of 192 people), Riachinho (126 inhabitants), Bonito (111 inhabitants) and Botica (101 inhabitants), all situated to the west of the area.

Despite the constant pressure on the Apinajé territory, it was only in 1993 that the Indigenous Vigilance Post of Veredão was created, situated on the northern border, on the side of highway BR 230, at the point where the highway crosses through the indigenous area, as a way of keeping watch over the entry of vehicles and preventing settlements on the side of the road. This post also has the job of preventing the practice of illegal predatory activities (from the removal of timber, jaborandi leaves, to hunting and fishing). The Post relies on the assistance of a driver and a post administrator.

Presently, in the Apinajé area, there are eight schools, one for each village, with a student population of approximately 500 students. The situation of the teachers and school varies from village to village. In the village of S. José, the most populous and traditional, there are four teachers, two of them indigenous, who are hired by the Prefecture and the SEDUC (State Secretary of Education), one teacher from the FUNAI and one missionary of the New Tribes Missions. In the other villages, which are smaller, there are only indigenous teachers, several with contracts signed with the local prefectures and others with the State. There is also a teacher from the FUNAI in the village of Mariazinha.

In 1998, the Apinajé founded the Krinduré Association, but it has neither mandate nor legitimacy to make decisions on behalf of the villages due to the political autonomy that holds amongst them. This social dynamic makes it understandable why, for example, one village took a position in favor of the asphalting of BR 230 and another village was radically against. This autonomy of the villages has been utilized by the government agencies, which at times take the position of the groups that they deem convenient for their own interests, as "official" and consider it to be generalized.

Besides irreversible environmental damages, government enterprises in the area have even led to an increase in the value of the lands of the region. The modernization of agriculture has sacrificed the food production of the small-scale producer (manioc, beans, corn), and favors one product (soy) for export. Without any monetary income (to educate their children, buy clothes and medicine, etc.), the small-scale producer ends up selling his property to speculators or neighbors with capital.

In relation to the indigenous populations, the only positive impact, usually, of this policy has been a certain attention and pressure from agencies, until then government agencies, directly involved in the enterprise (such as the ELETRONORTE and the CVRD, for example) on the FUNAI, seeking to accelerate the process of normalizing land-titles of the indigenous lands affected, due to the pressures of the multilateral banks, which in general have financed the enterprises and are sensitive to the pressures of environmental and indigenist NGOs.

In this context, the main impact on the Apinaje of the implementation of the set of these government enterprises projected for the region, is pressure on their lands, which could concretely turn into a series of invasions by migrant squatters from already "over- concentrated" regions or from medium-sized speculator ranchers, and from the constant invasions by lumbermen, searching for an ever scarcer resource in the region.

In any case, for the Apinajé of the villages of S. José and Cocalinho, having BR 230 as a border represents a constant threat to the integrity of their territory and their dignity as a people, given the difficulty of controlling the invasion of squatters and entrance of hunters, lumbermen, gatherers, besides the installation of the so-called "bolichos", small cachaça (rum) bars and points of prostitution.

There are yet other projects for the construction of the following works in the region:

- The Hydroelectric Dam of "Serra Quebrada": this will directly affect the Apinajé indigenous area located on the left bank of the Tocantins, between the municipalities of Tocantinópolis (TO) /Porto Franco (MA) and Maurilândia (TO), 30 kilometers upriver from Estreito (MA); immense babaçu stands will be flooded, as well as lands fertilized by the floods, that will disappear with the silting of the river.

- The Araguaia-Tocantins Waterway: the Apinajé Indigenous Land is located about 30 kilometers from the city of Estreito (MA), where it is expected that the last terminal of the waterway will be installed. Highway TO-126, connecting Estreito to Tocantinópolis, and the Trans-Amazon (BR-230) goes out from this city.

- The North-South Railway: the Apinajé Indigenous Land is situated in the area of influence of this projected railway, and its impacts have been the object of studies by the VALEC.

- Carajás Iron Ore Project: during the phase of the implantation of the Carajá railway, which connects the Carajás mine to the port of Itaqui in São Luís, the Apinajé Indigenous Land was included within the area of influence of the undertaking and received benefits from the agreement between the CVRD and FUNAI (1982-1986).


01:: Apinajé school. photo: Ilana Lanski, 1984.

Maria Elisa Ladeira
elisaladeira@uol.com.br

Gilberto Azanha
gazanha@uol.com.br

Anthropologists, members of the CTI (Center for Indigenist Work)

October, 2003

 
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