Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities of the Cerrado

Historian Paulo Bertran¹, one of the greatest scholars of the history of Goiás and the Central Plateau, coined the term 'Homo cerratensis,' symbolically naming the discovery of the oldest human skeleton in the Americas, Homo sapiens sapiens, during an archaeological excavation in the Serranópolis region of Goiás, dating back 13 years before the present. Over time, the term 'Homo cerratensis' came to designate the traditional inhabitants of the Cerrado, whether or not the result of a mixture of Indigenous, Portuguese, and African populations. Some refer to these people simply as: Cerratenses. There is also the generic term 'Peoples of the Cerrado', frequently used by Cerrado Network, which highlights the leading role of these traditional populations in defending the biome².

Regardless of the name, these peoples are of unparalleled beauty and diversity. Their preserved territories often form connecting corridors between protected areas and indigenous lands. They are family farmers and traditional communities, such as quilombolas, geraizeiros, babassu coconut breakers, and indigenous peoples—human groups of profound wisdom and respect for the environment, with a strong sense of community. In addition, of course, there are urban populations that make up a rich human mosaic.

The Cerrado is home to approximately 216 Indigenous Territories (ILs) and 83 different ethnic groups. Distributed primarily in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul, it has an Indigenous population of approximately 100 inhabitants³. However, the vast majority of ILs have not undergone a land regularization process. This situation results in serious conflicts, which have been one of the factors threatening the extinction of several Indigenous groups.

There are currently 44 quilombola territories⁴ in the Cerrado. These communities, remnants of the slavery era, continue to fight for the recognition of their territories and the preservation of their culture, traditions, and way of life.⁵ A good example is the Kalunga⁶, a quilombola community located in Chapada dos Veadeiros, in northern Goiás, recognized in 1991 as a Brazilian historical and cultural heritage site. The Kalunga still preserve their livelihoods today, planting crops, raising livestock, and understanding the uses of Cerrado plants for food, medicine, and utilities. Above all, they preserve a valuable cultural legacy, contained in folk stories and traditional festivals, many of them specific to each of the Kalunga territory's centers (the Contenda and Vão do Calunga regions; Vão de Almas; Vão do Moleque and Ribeirão dos Bois).

The Geraizeiros² are another traditional population of great importance for the conservation of the biome. They are peasants from areas where the term Gerais is used to designate the Cerrado (roughly speaking), located in areas where the biome exists in northern and northwestern Minas Gerais and western Bahia. A major threat to the geraizeiros has been the advance of eucalyptus monocultures since the 70s, which has led to expropriations, land grabbing, and numerous environmental impacts. The geraizeiros have their own cultural characteristics and a traditional way of life, sustainably integrated into the biome, which they seek to defend through a movement of resistance and affirmation to preserve their identity and territories.

Babaçu coconut breakers are ordinary women from communities named after the work of harvesting and cracking coconuts. The palm tree is most common in the babaçu ecological region, which encompasses the Cerrado, cocais, lowlands, and plateaus in Maranhão; the middle and lower reaches of the Parnaíba River in Piauí; and the lowlands and humid valleys along the banks of the Tocantins and Araguaia rivers in the state of Tocantins. Initially, the breakers gathered in their communities to work, but they eventually formed bonds among themselves, which gave them greater confidence in dealing with their daily challenges. In the 90s, the Interstate Movement of Babaçu Coconut Breakers (MIQCB) emerged, a collective that brings together many of these women to fight for better living conditions, understand their rights, and defend the palm tree and the environment.

The Vazanteiras⁸ communities, located primarily on the banks of the São Francisco River, live off fishing, extractivism, and livestock farming. Their agriculture is unique, following the river's cycles of flooding, flooding, ebbing, and drying. The Vazanteiros have been fighting to preserve their way of life and to guarantee their right to land and water, staunchly resisting the advance of agribusiness in their regions.

Another traditional population of the Cerrado are the Fundo and Fecho de Pasto communities⁹, also present in smaller numbers in the Caatinga. Their way of life is based on the use of common grazing areas for raising cattle, goats, and/or sheep, and the extraction of food and medicinal plants. In the 70s, the communities collectively fenced off certain areas, seeking protection from land grabbers and large-scale producers, hence the name Fecho de Pasto (pasture understood as native vegetation). The fences remain of great importance for the maintenance of the biome. In western Bahia, the preserved areas are concentrated precisely where the communities' pasture fences are located.

Finally, it's worth mentioning a very unique group present in the Cerrado: the gatherers of everlasting flowers¹⁰, species native to the biome's rocky fields. After being harvested, these flowers undergo a drying process and, sometimes, coloring to maintain their vibrant appearance. Generally, there are gatherers in more than 50 municipalities in the Diamantina region, in the southern portion of the Espinhaço Mountains in Minas Gerais. Flower gathering is a tradition that has been perpetuated for generations and is an important source of income for the community. This group has sought to strengthen its identity by fighting for recognition of its practices and the right to use the land.

As part of this process of strengthening their identity, in 2018, the everlasting flower gatherers were the first Brazilian candidate for the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIPS) recognition program, granted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).¹¹ The process, initiated in 2018, sought to recognize the gatherers, who call themselves guardians of seeds, flowers, and other traditional agricultural plants.

Unfortunately, many of these communities are witnessing the devastation of the Cerrado that surrounds them, becoming virtually islands of preserved areas within the biome. This fact further highlights the importance of preserving their livelihoods, which conserve the biome through sustainable use, an environmental service with invaluable benefits. Ensuring the permanence of these peoples in their territories means conserving the biome, its riches, and all the benefits the Cerrado brings to society.