Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
In terms of numbers, we count until 3. More than that, we have lost the
information.
Pohaxo - 1
Pyaxo - 2
Mopoa'ti ou Mopoa'xi - 3
These are the ideas that we are studying now. We hope to restore the language
and knowledge of the Terena people very soon.
Presentation of Pankararu knowledge, by Dimas Nascimento
I'm going to set mathematics aside for a while to speak with you about our
relatives who arrived here in São Paulo in the 1950s. I do this because our
history is related to our mathematics. Or to put it better, our current history
is precisely the reason why the Pankararu people have lacked the necessary
resources to develop our own mathematics as we should have done already.
Our relatives came from the state of Pernambuco [northeastern Brazil] on a
pau-de-arara [cattle-truck]. It took them more than a month to arrive in São
Paulo. They came fleeing the drought and starvation, hoping to find better life
conditions here in São Paulo. We were promised jobs, and a good life building
railroad tracks. Until recently, our presence in São Paulo City was not even
recognized by the local administration of Funai in Bauru. Therefore we did not
receive any support from Funai until very recently.
The 1,000 Pankararu that live in the city of São Paulo are divided up like this:
70 percent live in the Favela Real Parque, in Morumbi; 20 percent live in the
Favela Madalena and 10 percent are circulating between Jardim Ângela and
the Favela Paraisópolis.
We live here in São Paulo, but as Whites and not as Indians. We were very
discriminated against here in São Paulo, because our skin is black. So it's
been a great struggle to be recognized as an Indian. We are gaining space
very slowly. The recognition [as a federally recognized Indigenous People]
is already a big deal. It looks like Funai is going to buy an area of land for us
around here, but we don't know when.
Meanwhile we have to go on with our lives passing as Whites. We have
managed to convince folks we are not black, and convinced most people we
are White. This is because non-Indians have this idea that Indians don't know
how to work, that Indians don't know anything and therefore we don't have
any rights. But this is a lie! Indians know everything!
I work as a security guard and I've already worked in various companies.
The rest of the people work in cleaning, bricklaying and other gigs. So we
have to have the White folks' documents and our own Indian documents.
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