Terena
- Other names
- Where they are
MT, MS, SP - How many
24.776 (Funasa, 2009) - Linguistic family
Aruak
Introduction
The state of Mato Grosso do Sul contains the second largest indigenous population of the country, second only to Amazonas. Because they have a very large population and because they have intense contact with the regional population, the Terena are a people whose presence in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul is more visible, as saleswomen on the streets of Campo Grande or the legions of sugarcane cutters who periodically move to the distilleries for the changa, temporary work on the ranches and sugar and alcohol producing plants. This intense participation in the daily life of Mato Grosso do Sul contributes to the stereotype of the Terena as “acculturated” and “urban Indians”. Such statements serve to mask the resistance of a people who, over the centuries, have struggled to maintain their culture alive, knowing how to make positive changes out of adverse situations resulting from an age-old contact, besides rapid changes in the ecological and social landscape which the colonial powers and later, the Brazilian state have forced on them.
Direct contact
Associação de Jovens Indígenas de Dourados (Association of the Indigenous Youth of Dourados) - http://www.jovensindigenas.org.br/ [in portuguese]
