Tarcísio creates indigenous coordination and appoints chief – 09/20/2023 – Panel

Chief Cristiano Awa Kiririndju de Lima Silva, 38, will be responsible for the newly created Policy Coordination for Indigenous Peoples in the State of São Paulo.

A member of the Tupi-Guarani ethnic group, Cristiano is part of the Renascer village, in Ubatuba (SP). He presided over the State Council of Indigenous Peoples of São Paulo and will now have the role of representing the state’s indigenous people in demands before the state and federal governments.

“The creation of an indigenous coordination has long been a demand of the communities living in the state”, says the chief to the Panel. The new body is linked to the state Department of Justice and Citizenship.

The chief’s inauguration should take place soon, in his village. “I hope the governor [Tarcísio de Freitas] can attend,” he said.

A pedagogue, the chief is a career state employee and regional director of the Department of Education in Caraguatatuba, a city neighboring his own.

“We have many demands on issues such as health, paving the territory, education, indigenous schools and basic sanitation”, says Cristiano.

There are currently five ethnicities established in 37 territories in the state. There are around 37 thousand indigenous people living in São Paulo, 30 thousand of them in urban areas.

“We currently have 82 territories in the recognition phase. This is obviously our biggest concern today, but we know that it is a federal issue. My role will also be to liaise with Union bodies to try to conclude these processes”, he says, who states have a good relationship with the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara.

He says he has no political or party position, but claims to recognize the governor’s merit in meeting the demand to give more strength to indigenous representation in the state.

The state’s Secretary of Justice, Fábio Prieto, says that the creation of the coordination aims to deepen the actions and expand the social participation of ethnic groups located in the territory of São Paulo.

“As a federal magistrate, I worked for 30 years with the indigenous issue. I proposed to Governor Tarcísio the creation of the body, to give effective protagonism to indigenous communities. He was not only aware, but also gave concreteness to the project”, said Prieto.

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