Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
• The deforestation of their land due to invasions by farmers and resulting
plantations that make use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers leading to the loss
of biodiversity;
• The erosion and degradation of the land given the deforestation on and around
Indigenous territories;
• The enticement of the Xavante to work as cheap peons in a system of slavery or
semi-slavery;
• The change of dietary habits given the lack of access to traditional foods, which
were forcefully substituted by
comida de waradzu
(white man's food), such as
rice, beans, and noodles; and
• The dependence on allopathic [Western] medicine.
4
Yet while several Xavante villages in Sangradouro were all on board and working
very hard for the Flowers and Fruits project in 2002 and 2003, administrators from
Funai (
the Fundação Nacional do Índio
or National Indian Foundation) and local
Figure 6.3. Batika Dzutsi'wa and Tseredza'ro Ruri'õ, selecting seeds for the next crop of the
Women's Project, 2003.
