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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).
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