The Tenetehar people, who have always inhabited the eastern portion of the Amazon valley, will reunite for the first time after 407 years of separation. The meeting will take place from August 7th to 9th, 2021, in the village of São Pedro, located in the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Territory (TI), in Pará. The event will bring together indigenous leaders of the Tenetehar people to discuss survival strategies and the defense of their territories.
The meeting is organized by the Federation of Indigenous Peoples of Pará (FEPIPA) with the support of the Coordination of Organizations and Articulations of Indigenous Peoples of Maranhão (COAPIMA), and the Institute for Society, Population and Nature (ISPN), within the scope of the project Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Landscapes in the Cerrado and Amazon, a partnership with the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the Center for Indigenous Work (CTI) and the Nupef Institute.
Who are the Tenetehar?
The history of this people's separation began around the 16th century with the founding of São Luiz (MA) by the French and Belém (PA) by the Portuguese, and this system of European conquest crossed the Tenetehar territory. After the colonial separation, the divided people came to be called Tembé, on the Pará side, and Guajajara, on the Maranhão side. “Despite the separation that the Brazilian State imposed on the Tenetehar, our ancestries still keep us connected. We have never separated spiritually,” affirms Puyr Tembé, executive coordinator of FEPIPA. The self-denomination Tenetehar means “the true man” or “the man of truth,” but in the sense of characterizing a person of flesh and blood without referring to the idea of someone who determines truths. The Tenetehar belong to the Tupi linguistic family.
Territorial management strategies for resistance and survival.
Highly celebrated by indigenous leaders, the meeting holds singular importance in the current context of constant attacks on indigenous rights in Brazil. “We will come together to devise strategies for struggle and show that we need to be united and strengthened as one,” emphasizes Puyr Tembé. In this sense, the event will discuss various strategies for strengthening the territorial and environmental management of this extensive territory encompassing 14 Indigenous Lands. This is a region that suffers from various types of socio-environmental pressures, such as invasions for illegal logging, cattle ranching, and other activities that increase environmental degradation in one of the regions most affected by deforestation in the Amazon.
The invasions also impact life in indigenous villages, even threatening the lives of leaders who fight to protect their territories. Therefore, the topics discussed will involve Territorial and Environmental Management Plans (PGTAs) – instruments that organize future plans for indigenous territories; the role of indigenous women in caring for Mother Earth; the Gurupi Mosaic – a set of protected areas that brings together Indigenous Lands in the Tenetehar territory and which constitutes an important instrument for strengthening territorial management at the macro-landscape level; the Guardians and Warriors of the Forest – indigenous collectives that voluntarily monitor Indigenous Lands against illegal practices; and also the Consultation Protocols – important instruments of self-determination that govern the indigenous right to free, prior and informed consultation on activities outside the territory that directly or indirectly affect indigenous well-being.
According to João Guilherme Nunes Cruz, coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples Program at ISPN, this meeting is yet another opportunity for indigenous peoples to discuss challenges they face and propose integrated solutions, as in the case of the Tenetehar, who will discuss conservation, culture, territorial protection, among other issues. "We support this event because we understand that it will contribute to the management of this macro-landscape, through environmental conservation and the valuing of the Tenetehar's way of life," he stated.
Sanitary safety precautions
Due to the participation of many guests from different Indigenous Territories in Maranhão and Pará, FEPIPA has developed a rigorous Health and Safety Protocol to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among participants. The Protocol is based on current official regulations for containing the coronavirus and stipulates that participants must have already received both doses of the vaccine. All participants will undergo rapid testing upon arrival and departure from the event, must wear masks, use hand sanitizer, and maintain as much social distancing as possible.
Service:
Event: 1st Tenetehar People's Gathering
Objective: To reunite the Tenetehar people after 407 years and discuss strategies for managing indigenous territories for resistance and survival.
Date: August 7-9, 2021
Location: São Pedro Village, Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous Territory (PA)
Information:
[email protected]
[email protected]
(Art: FEPIPA)