Foto: Eliane Motta, 1984

Makuxi

  • Other names
    Macuxi, Macushi
  • Where they are
    RR
    Guiana Equatorial
    Venezuela
  • How many
    29.931 (Funasa, 2010)
    9.500 (Guiana, 2001)
    83 (INEI, 2001)
  • Linguistic family
    Karib

Introduction

Inhabitants of a border region, the Macuxi have been facing adverse situations since at least the 18th century due to the non-indigenous occupation of the region, initially involving mission villages and forced migrations, later the advance of extraction fronts and farming, and more recently the arrival of prospectors and the proliferation of illegal land sellers in their territory. Today, along with other peoples from the region, they face one of the biggest impasses in terms of the materialization of indigenous rights in contemporary Brazil, namely the ratification of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Territory, currently occupied by urban centres, cattle ranches and rice plantations.