Tembe Stories

Through Anthropology and Literature, we try to understand the stories present among the Tembe of Santa Maria do Para (more specifically from the villages of Jeju and Areal) beyond literary oral narratives, but as identity-political tools that strengthen the struggle for indigenous rights. The Tembe have been forced to live with hundreds of squatter families on their land and suffer the effects of irregular activities by loggers, farmers and businessmen. However, far from resigning themselves to this situation, the Tembe people have been fighting to have their territory cleared and demanding their rights from public bodies and local authorities through their organization AITESAMPA (Associacao Indigena dos Tembe de Santa Maria do Para). With this study, therefore, we intend to deepen our knowledge of historical land disputes, naturalized violence against indigenous people and oral narratives as identity-political tools.