Roraima: Brazil's northernmost frontier by John Hemming - SAS-Space

Indians
Roraima's Indian population divides into forest-dwelling tribes that have
had little contact, and savanna tribes that are now highly acculturated and
almost assimilated into frontier society. The latter are the Makuxi, Wapixana
and related Carib- and Aruak-speaking groups. The population of these
semi-acculturated Indians has increased dramatically during recent decades,
keeping pace with the growth of Roraima's total population.
In 1913 the native population of Rio Branco (Roraima) was estimated at
between three and five thousand. That estimate was presumably only for
savanna tribes, since there was then almost no contact with Yanomami or
other forest tribes. In 1944 Myers reckoned that there were little more than
a thousand Makuxi in Brazil. In the 1950s Darcy Ribeiro and Dale Kietzman
guessed that there were 1,500-2,000 Makuxi in Brazil, plus 1,000 or 1,500
related Taurepang and the same number of Wapixana in Brazil. Thus, they
reckoned 6,000 savanna Indians at most. By the 1970s, Edson Diniz and
Ernesto Migliazza each calculated that Roraima's Makuxi had doubled, to
3,000. But in the 35 years to 1986 the Indian population had possibly tripled.
Emanuele Amodio and Vicente Pira, anthropologists with an intimate knowledge
of the region's plains Indians, now estimate that the new state contains
12,000 Makuxi, 550Taurepang (Pemon), 5,000 Wapixana and 500 Ingariko:
a total of over 18,000 for these tribes. The Indian service FUNAI claimed
that 40% of Roraima's population is Indian - a higher proportion than in any
other part of Brazil.
An authoritative and detailed census of Indian lands published in 1987 by
the ecumenical research centre CEDI confirmed the population explosion.
It listed a total of 15,395 people of these four tribes living in reserves 66 - and
it is known that many Indians now live outside tribal lands, particularly
around Boa Vista.
There are various explanations for this increase. One may simply be that
the modern counts are more accurate than earlier guesses. More importantly,
Catholic and Protestant missionaries have been very active among
these acculturated tribes, breaking down tribal customs, encouraging them
to emulate settlers by having large families, and providing health and particularly
natal care. Indians from these tribes also use the hospitals in Boa
Vista and the rural health programmes provided by the government. After
two centuries of contact, the Makuxi and Wapixana have developed some
immunity to imported diseases that devastate newly-contacted tribes.
FUNAI has increased its presence in Roraima and, together with the missionaries,
has given some protection to native lands that were being engulfed
by cattle ranching. This has improved the feeling of security of protected
groups: their stability has resulted in population growth, from a higher birth
rate and lower mortality.
Indian culture and survival are closely linked to land. The plains Indians