11/15/2023 0 Comments Awa tribe storiesIn fact, this natural corridor has served as a refuge for some Guajá groups and it has safely conducted some individuals to Bahia and Minas Gerais. Additionally, more distant groups have been seen trekking on sierras linking up the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, Goiás, Bahia e Minas Gerais. As it happens, other uncontacted groups were also seen on the Alto Turiaçu and Caru Reserves, as well as some of their vestiges, such as abandoned campsites, as reported by the Ka'apor and contacted groups of Guajá. Other sightings of uncontacted Guajá were reported on the Gurupi Biological Reserve, adjacent to Caru Reserve, to its west. Other groups of uncontacted Guajá were sighted on the Arariboia Indian Reserve, by the Guajajara Indians, to the south of the Alto Turiaçu and Caru Reserves. However, till this day, demarcation has not gone forward as powerful regional interests, wielding much political and economic power, have steadily lobbied against the establishment of the Awá Reserve. The last official document addressing the issue of a future land area for the Guajá was Brazil's Official Daily Bulletin (Diário Oficial da União), posted on July 29, 1992, by its Ministry of Justice, designating approximately 118,000 hectares for the future Awá Reserve. Thus, it is extremely important that this Reserve be demarcated and registered to guarantee a more secure future for the Guajá. Some stretches of this would-be Reserve have been deforested, not to mention that some feeder roads are already cutting through the area, serving as a conduit for the illegal extraction of lumber. Moreover, it is believed that some uncontacted Guajá reside in this area such that its demarcation would extend protection to these groups as well. The establishment of the Awá Reserve would also deed them a land area of their own since they currently share the Alto Turiaçu and Caru Reserves with the Ka´apor, Timbira e Guajajara. In addition to providing more security for the Guajá, the consolidation of these areas would give them more land to carry out their traditional subsistence activities. The establishment of this reserve would link up the Alto Turiaçu and Caru Reserves, thus creating a contiguous land area less prone to invasion by local settlers. Since 1982 there has been an attempt to establish a new land area for the Guajá, known as the Awá Indian Reserve. The Guajá that are in permanent contact live on the Alto Turiaçu (530,520 hectares) and Caru (172,667 hectares) Indian Reserves both of these areas have been officially demarcated and registered. It is likely that by 1950 all of the Guajá were already residing east of the Gurupi river, which separates Pará from Maranhão state (Gomes 1989 & 1991). With the advent of the Cabanagem upheaval, around 1835-1840, they steadily moved in an easterly direction, towards the state of Maranhão. As European colonial settlement expanded, exerting pressure on local indigenous populations, these groups were forced to disperse. They probably formed part of a larger group composed of other Tupi-Guarani peoples, such as the Ka'apor, Tembé, and Guajajara (Tenetehar) (Gomes 1988, 1989 & 1991 Balée 1994). Their origins are obscure yet it is believed that they came from lower Tocantins river basin of Pará state. The Guajá call themselves Awá, a term which means "man", "person", or "people". The Awá Indians of Amazonian Brazil: the most endangered tribe on earth Vanity Fair Magazine
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