Aitesampa (Tembé Indigenous Association of Santa Maria, Pará)

Support and strengthen ties between the Jeju and Areal communities and the Tembé peoples of the Upper Guamá River in their quest to legally demarcate their lands. The goal is to guarantee their physical survival, with a focus on special training for women and youth.

– Advisory meetings with the Jeju and Areal communities.
– Workshops on public policies affecting indigenous women, focusing mainly on the struggle for land and rights.
– Workshops on public policies affecting indigenous youth, focusing mainly on the struggle for land and rights.
– Meeting with the Tembé from Guamá and the Jeju and Areal communities, focusing mainly on ways of reclaiming and managing indigenous land.
– Trip to Brasília to demand the demarcation of indigenous land.

The struggle for demarcation of indigenous lands has already been going on for 15 years. The communities recount how their ancestors were tricked and many suffered heinous deaths.

A working group at Funai was recently created and has started studying the demarcation of lands.

Communities have also recently been able to meet with Sesai (Secretary of Indigenous Health) coordinators for the first time, although they continue without assistance because their land is not officially demarcated.

It is therefore important to assure training, particularly for women and youth, so that this effort continues. It is also important to invest in strengthening alliances with other Tembé tribes and other segments of society sympathetic to their cause.

Aitesampa works to strengthen the struggle for land and seeks, together with the government, effective health assistance, as guaranteed by law. It also strives for better indigenous education that values culture and intensifies links to the greater Tembé family in other regions.

Cimi (Indigenous Missionary Council) and the municipal government of Santa Maria.