The national statistics agency IBGE announced on Monday that Brazil’s Indigenous population is 1.69 million, almost double the previous estimate of 896,917 in 2010.
This 88% increase is attributed to changes in methodology used by census teams, who traveled to remote villages in the Amazon rainforest to count the Indigenous population for the first time.
Sonia Guajajara, the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, explained that more Indigenous individuals now feel comfortable identifying themselves as such. In the past, they would hide their identity out of fear of being killed.
During a news conference in Belem, Guajajara and Planning Minister Simone Tebet spoke about the new population numbers. They highlighted that the data will enable improved budget funding for policies to support Indigenous communities, especially in education and healthcare services, addressing years of government neglect.
Tebet also stated that census teams, accompanied by police and using helicopters, were able to reach villages that were previously inaccessible or deemed too dangerous due to the presence of illegal miners and loggers.
An example of this was the Yanomami territory, where a major enforcement operation was launched in January to remove thousands of miners who had entered the region illegally. This caused a humanitarian crisis, with malnutrition, diseases like malaria, and the pollution of rivers with mercury, resulting in the death of wildlife.
The IBGE found that the Yanomami population is now estimated to be 27,152 people, higher than previously thought. Half of Brazil’s Indigenous communities, approximately 867,900 people, reside in the Amazon region. The city of Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, has the highest concentration of indigenous people in urban areas.
This census is notable because it allowed Indigenous individuals living in urban areas to identify themselves, a category that was previously overlooked. Tebet also criticized the previous government’s actions, claiming that the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro had limited census activities and dismantled agencies that worked in the interest of Indigenous people.
Overall, the updated census figures represent an important step towards recognizing and acknowledging Brazil’s Indigenous population, enabling better support and protection for these communities.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
