Introduction
Brazil turned 500 in 2000 and still ignores the immense diversity of the Indigenous peoples living in its territory. It is estimated that, at the time the Europeans first arrived, there were more than 1,000 denominations, with a total of between 2 and 4 million people. Today they are 233 peoples , speaking more than 180 different languages and adding up to approximately 370,000 individuals.
The majority of this population is distributed among thousands of villages located within 645 Indigenous Lands (TIs) - spread throughout the national territory.
In order to contribute for the knowledge about and respect for these populations, this site of the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) presents updated and qualified information on the different Indigenous peoples that live in contemporary Brazil through introductory texts, photographs, news, analyses, maps, illustrations, lists, tables and indications of additional information sources.
This material is the result of more than 25 years of research, started by the Centro Ecumênico de Documentação e Informação (CEDI), continued by our staff’s daily work and supported by a vast network of ISA’s collaborators.
