The Kaingang (also spelled ''caingangue'' in
Portuguese or ''kanhgág'' in the
Kaingang language) people are an
Indigenous Brazilian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...
ethnic group spread out over the three southern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian states of
Paraná,
Santa Catarina and
Rio Grande do Sul and the southeastern state of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. They are also called Caingang and Aweikoma, though the Kaingang and Aweikoma (
Xokleng
The Xokleng or Aweikoma (sometimes called '' botocudos'') are a Native American tribe of Brazil; their territory is located mainly in the state of Santa Catarina. They were one of the original inhabitants of Misiones Province in Argentina. Th ...
) are now considered separate groups. The Kaigang people were the original first inhabitants of the province of Misiones in Argentina. Their language and culture is quite distinct from the neighboring
Guaraní.
It has been stated that the Kaingang rarely live long in one place causing them to move a lot, but some sources, such as Juracilda Veiga
and ethnographic registers (José Francisco Tomás do Nascimento 1886, Telêmaco Borba 1908 etc.), indicate that Kaingang groups have a crucial relation with the land where they were born and their ancestors were buried.
The
Kaingang language is a member of the
Jê family.
Copel agreement
In November 2006
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
's state-owned power company,
Copel, agreed to compensate the group 6.5 million dollars for operating a
small hydro
Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less ...
plant in the
Apucaraninha Reservation. The company finally gave in to a settlement after the natives carried two barrels full of fuel into the plant's machine room and threatened to destroy the plant.
This is part of a larger trend of indigenous groups challenging energy projects according to
Platts.
See also
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Indigenous people of Brazil
Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...
Footnotes
Murdock, 1949.
Citations
References
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Indigenous peoples in Brazil
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