Brazil begins the census of its indigenous population

Brazil, the country with the most tribes and indigenous population, started yesterday, August 10, the census in indigenous territories, in a process that will last until October 31 and is part of the 2022 census, in charge of the state-owned Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

IBGE employees will visit all communities and indigenous peoples and count all indigenous people living on or off their lands, in urban or rural areas, and those from other countries.

According to the 2010 census, the first to include indigenous people, Brazil had almost 900,000 indigenous people, and 60% lived on indigenous lands recognized by the government. In 2010, the South American country had 305 ethnic groups and 274 indigenous languages.

To count the entire indigenous population, IBGE census takers will start by explaining the process to indigenous leaders to get their permission to access the villages.

“Leadership plays a fundamental role in the process, to explain to the community the importance of the research and that no one is afraid to answer because the information is protected,” said IBGE’s manager of traditional territories and protected areas, Fernando Damasco.

The next step will be the application of a questionnaire about the village or community, with questions about infrastructure, access to natural resources, education, health, habits, and practices. Later, the census takers will visit all the homes to conduct interviews with the resident families.

According to IBGE, any person identifying as indigenous is considered indigenous. “The census taker or any other person on the collection team may not question the informant, nor question his or her statement,” the IBGE said.

With information from Xinhua

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