Survey identified the presence of 241 organizations in all Brazilian states. In four years, the organized movement of indigenous women in Brazil grew two and a half times
Indigenous women, in all biomes, organize themselves into collectives, movements, departments and other types of organizations. And there is no state in the country where they are not organized around issues such as health, education, combating violence against women and defending their territory.
This is what the Map of Indigenous Women's Organizations in Brazil 2024, an unprecedented partnership between researchers from the National Articulation of Indigenous Women Warriors of Ancestrality (Anmiga) and the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA).
The results of this mapping are gathered in a publication that will be launched on November 29, during the first stage of the 2024/2025 Indigenous Women's Conference, in the Limão Verde Indigenous Land, in Amambai (MS). The result of a partnership between Anmiga and the Ministries of Indigenous Peoples and Women, the event takes place during the XII Great Assembly of Kuñangue Aty Guasu, the largest gathering of Kaiowá and Guarani women in Mato Grosso do Sul.
With a visual identity created by artist Auá Mendes, an indigenous member of the Mura people, the publication features a map with all the georeferenced organizations covered by the mapping and a list by state in alphabetical order. It also features articles that focus on the way and motivations of indigenous women when organizing themselves, and also how Anmiga has developed its own concepts to think about the present of indigenous women in politics. In addition, the material includes a timeline that records part of the history of indigenous women's associations, highlighting important milestones in this movement.
The Map is the result of a survey that began in early 2024 and was developed with the aim of showing in numbers the significant growth in the struggle of indigenous women in the country. The research identified 241 organizations and delved into the various reasons that motivate indigenous women to organize themselves.
See images of diversity and struggle contained in the map:
Some of the issues raised by these mobilizations are differentiated and quality health and education; confronting violence against women and in their territories; and the valorization of traditional food and their ways of life. They also mobilize with the aim of defending their territories, such as the Forest Warriors (or Tenetehar Kuzá Gwer Wá in the Guajajara language), who join forces with the Forest Guardians in protecting the Araribóia Indigenous Territory (MA).
The Map thus highlights the power of indigenous associations, providing an updated number and location of indigenous women’s organizations. “The study may also contribute to strengthening women’s networks, indicating possible paths for political articulation and action. In addition, it also aims to be a tool for identifying areas where organizations are concentrated and possible gaps in women’s associations,” says Luma Prado, a researcher at ISA and one of the organizers of the publication.
Indigenous women have always been in struggle. In recent years, however, they have increasingly started to create their own organizations. “By naming themselves as entities or collectives, indigenous women emphasize that they have always been in movement – even without due recognition of their participation and their own forms of organization –, while at the same time bringing forth new political subjects and establishing other possibilities for political action”, states an article contained on the back of the Map.
This new edition updates the Map of Indigenous Women's Organizations, published in 2020. This time, the new survey was carried out using a methodology that combined information already systematized in one of ISA's databases with the active search constructed and carried out in partnership with Anmiga.
Based on the results, it was possible to affirm what had already been shown throughout the construction of this publication: there are multiple ways to mobilize. Indigenous women organize themselves into departments; groups; networks; unions; councils; articulations; collectives; associations; organizations; groups; institutes; indigenous women's movements; among other names. With different scopes, the survey identified 174 local organizations; 48 regional; 14 state; and 5 national.
The mapping also identified the period in which Indigenous Women's Organizations were founded in Brazil, with 2020 to 2024 showing the highest concentration of organization creation, when 74 were founded. One of the youngest is the Fág Jãre Fag Women's Collective, which gained a name and body after intense action in the aftermath of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, in May of this year.
Indigenous Women's Conference 2024/2025
The 2024/2025 Indigenous Women's Conference is a series of meetings held by Anmiga, in partnership with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) and the Ministry of Women. Divided into seven regional stages and one national stage, the Conference seeks to strengthen the struggle of indigenous women through the exchange of experiences and political and social mobilization, especially on topics such as territorial rights and management, climate emergency, gender-based violence, health and education, and the transmission of intergenerational knowledge.
The first stage, Aroeira, will take place in Amambai, in the Limão Verde Indigenous Land, in Amambai (MS), between November 29 and 30. The last stage, in turn, will take place from March 8 to 11 in Brasília, at the Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center. The others will take place between December and February and are expected to bring together around 700 indigenous women.
Kuñangue Aty Guasu Assembly
The 12th General Assembly of Kuñangue Aty Guasu will take place from November 27 to 30, 2024, in the Limão Verde Indigenous Territory, in Amambai (MS). Known as the largest gathering of Kaiowá and Guarani Indigenous Women in Mato Grosso do Sul, this year's event marks the 18th anniversary of the organization. Among the topics to be discussed are the thesis of the “temporal framework”; the struggle of Kaiowá and Guarani Women for the demarcation of Indigenous Lands; the impact of pesticides on health; among others.
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