The richness of Roraima’s original and historic indigenous cultural diversity
Today, August 9, is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This date was established in 1995 by the United Nations (UN) and aims to guarantee the self-determination and human rights of indigenous peoples around the world. It was created, above all, to emphasize the importance of these peoples to societies, valuing all their historical, political, economic and cultural contributions.
On this date, it is important to reflect on the fact that the discoveries made by indigenous peoples in the fields of popular music, dance, handicrafts, cuisine and the cultivation of hundreds of species, as well as other legacies such as ancient medicinal knowledge, are present in our daily lives. Aajhmaná, coordinator of the Roraima Humanitarian Mission, says: “It reminds us of the importance and appreciation of the cultures of indigenous peoples, with practices and traditions present in all cultures, in all societies.”
Some scholars estimate that the indigenous people of Brazil have mastered more than 200,000 species of medicinal plants. What’s more, the linguistic wealth left behind by Brazil’s indigenous peoples is something unattainable by other countries in the world: 305 peoples speaking 275 languages.
Nowadays, it is important to recognize that the inclusion of these peoples in our society, at this time of crisis, is an opportunity for these rights and guarantees, provided for in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to be respected and preserved
Venezuelan migration
Venezuela is facing a socio-economic and humanitarian crisis that began around 2013 and since then it is estimated that more than seven million Venezuelans have left the country.
The number of migrants and refugees from Venezuela in Brazil has risen every year, with the exception of the period between 2020-2021, when it remained stable. According to data from the UNHCR (UN National Agency for Refugees in Brazil), there are already more than 560,000 refugees in Brazil. Of these, around 9,000 are indigenous people, most of whom entered the country through the state of Roraima. In 2024, Brazil has already received more than 40,000 requests for refuge, which corresponds to 69% of the requests received in the whole of 2023, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Initiatives of the Fraternity – Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) for indigenous cultural preservation
In order to meet the challenge of reinserting migrant, refugee and local indigenous people into the job market and promoting the strengthening and cultural integration of these communities, the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), through the Indigenous Cultural and Training Centre (CCFI), has developed various links with international, national and local organizations.
Regarding the activities carried out at the CCFI, Aajhmaná explained that, in the areas of technical training, with both technical and more artistic knowledge, such as the clay pot courses and cotton workshops; in the area of entrepreneurship, with knowledge of pricing and presenting your own product; in the slightly more strategic areas of planning their own business – marketing – and even in interculturality with the indigenous intercultural fairs, all of which allows people to start gaining a little more confidence, knowledge, structure and integration into the job market in Roraima, more specifically in the city of Boa Vista. In this way, they get to know a little more about the local economy, exchanging ideas with other people who sell the same products or who already have experience in local commerce. This integration is essential to enable the autonomy of each people, each person, each community.”
The Fraternity – Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) seeks to raise awareness about the importance of preserving indigenous culture by publishing on social media, on indigenous commemorative dates, its extensive collection of images and experiences, built up throughout its journey in the Roraima Humanitarian Mission, “because there are our roots, our history,” emphasized Juan Diego, a humanitarian character of the Roraima Humanitarian Mission
“The lectures given by the indigenous people themselves at the intercultural fairs held at the CCFI on self-reflective themes such as the importance of handicrafts and cultural preservation, as well as the cultural exchange that takes place spontaneously between the different peoples in the dance performances and art exhibitions, strengthening the identity of each indigenous people and the exchange with the visiting public,” emphasized Juan Diego.
With regard to the more formal support that the Fraternity – Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) provides to indigenous people, Aajhmaná said that “the greatest difficulty in cultural and economic formation is the guide to accessing incentives, dissemination, language and deadlines”.
Indigenous cultural diversity promoted by the Roraima Humanitarian Mission
The Warao indigenous peoples consider the buriti tree to be a sacred and vitally important palm, with which they establish a relationship of bonding and reverence and from which they draw basic resources for food, income generation and housing.
“My grandfather used to say that the buriti tree was our father, our ancestor. The buriti tree has a life, a past, a future, a present, because it is historical and cultural. When you see a buriti tree, you see one of our ancestors, which is why we value and respect it so much. From buriti we make food, drink, handicrafts…”, described the Warao indigenous woman Argenia Centeno, who presented a demonstration of the processing and braiding of buriti straw at one of the editions of the Intercultural Indigenous Fair.
In this context, the Fraternity – Humanitarian Missions (FIHM), through its courses and projects focused on entrepreneurship, offers unique opportunities for the manufacture of the sacred handicrafts of the indigenous peoples, making it possible from the harvest to the processing of buriti, the main input used by the Warao artisans so that they can make their pieces and, from them, generate a source of income.
The organization also supports the Pemon – Taurepang cross-border people, who make original paintings on canvas, drawings on paper, graffiti on skin and also on buriti fibres, stones, wood and cane, by providing them with a suitable work space and supplies for making natural pigments, wood for framing paintings on canvas, paint for fabric, workshops for making frames for paintings, etc..
With diligence and zeal, the Eñepa indigenous people handle seeds to make beads, necklaces and bracelets, carve graphics and paint the treated wood that gives rise to decorative bows and arrows. Because they are fewer in number inside the shelters, they are shyer and quieter and seek to maintain their traditions and essence, from colorful clothing to festivities.
The Fraternity – Humanitarian Missions (FIHM) promotes the Indigenous Intercultural Fairs, which help to sell the produce of the 17 participating peoples (data from 2023). With everyone’s support, it continues with actions that seek to respect indigenous socio-cultural identity, protecting and helping to ensure that the customs and traditions brought by migrant families are not erased by the pain and hardship brought by a situation of refuge.
Ovelio Rodriguez, a Taurepang indigenous person, says: “the aim of the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples is to preserve the culture, the wealth of the indigenous peoples and also for us to have rights as human beings”.
