According to the 1991 Census, in 34.5% of the Brazilian municipalities there was at least one self-declared Indian...

According to the 1991 Census, in 34.5% of the Brazilian municipalities there was at least one self-declared Indian resident. This percentage increased to 63.5% in the 2000 Census, and to 80.5% in the 2010 edition.

The eight hundred seventeen thousand persons who declared to be Indians, in the 2010 Census, made up 0.4% of the national population. The survey did not encompass the Brazilian indigenous populations regarded as “isolated Indians” which, due to contacting policies in effect, were not interviewed.

As shown by the 2000 Census, among the 315 thousand Indians living in urban areas, the biggest percentage (33.7%) was found in the Northeast Region – surpassing the Southeast, the former leader concerning Indian presence in urban areas in the Censuses of 1991 and 2000. Among the 502 thousand residents of rural areas, the North Region had the biggest concentration of Indians (48.6%).  

In 1991 and 2000, the category “Indian” was investigated within the scope of color or race, and in the sample survey only.  For the first time, in the 2010 Census, IBGE investigated the Indian population within the scope of color or race in the basic questionnaire, which covers the Universe of housing units surveyed. In addition to that, the 2010 Census presented additional identification criteria similar to those used in Censuses of other countries: ethnic identity, language spoken in the household and geographic location. Specific information on Indian lands in expected to be available in July 2012.

Since this release is still being prepared, IBGE has created a special document and a web page to celebrate the Indian Day. They present analyses and comparative data of the 1991, 2000 and 2001 Census editions concerning the spatial distribution of the self-declared Indian population.

The document can be accessed at

www.ibge.gov.br/indigenas/indigena_censo2010.pdf and the page at

www.ibge.gov.br/indigenas/index.htm

Self-declared Indian population in Brazil amounted to 817 thousand persons in 2010

According to the 2010 Census, 817 thousand persons were self-declared Indians, what meant an increase of 11.4% (84 thousand persons) in the period 2000/2012, less than in the period 1991/2000, of approximately 150% (440 thousand persons).

Despite the evidence that Indian populations were experiencing accelerated increase due to high fertility rates, the census data of 2000 surpassed all expectations, with a pace of annual increase of 10.8% in the period 1991/2000. This fact reflects the rise of the number of persons who, in 1991, had dceclared to belong to other categories and that in 2000 started to see themselves as Indians.  

This phenomenon is known as “ethnogenesis” or “reethnicization”:  indigenous populations reaffirming and recreating their customs, after having been forced to hide and neglect their tribal identity as a surviving strategy against political, economic and religious pressure, or after having been deprived of their land and stigmatized due to their traditions. 

The 2010 Census results reveal, in relation to 2000, an annual pace of increase of 1.1% for the Indian population. In the urban area, there was a negative increment, corresponding to a reduction by 68 thousand persons, most of them coming from the Southeast Region. The persons in the urban area who quit declaring to be Indians might not identify themselves with their people of origin.

In the period 2000/2010, Acre had a population increase of 7.1% a year, followed by Paraíba, with 6.6% a year and Roraima, with 5.8% a year.  The biggest relative population decline was recorded in Rio de Janeiro: -7.8% a year, corresponding to about 20 thousand persons.

In urban areas, population decline affected all the states of the Southeast and South  and also of the Central West Region, except Mato Grosso do Sul.  In the rural area there was an opposite situation: increase of 3.7% per year. That highlighted the high annual growth rate of the Northeast Region, and the significant annual growth in the Northeast Region (4.7%).

Losses among the Indian population in urban areas were most significant in 20 Federation Units, especially São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.  In these states, the 2000 Census revealed major population increments over the 1991 Census figures.

North Region concentrates Indian population in the rural area; Northeast Region, in the urban area

In the analysis of the self-declared Indian population distribution among the country's Major Regions, the North remained as the leader in the Censuses of 1991 (42.2%), 2000 (29.1%) and 2010 (37.4%). The region was also a highlight in the rural area, with 50.5%, 47.6% and 48.6%, respectively. In the urban segment, the Southeast concentrated 35.4% of the Indians in 1991 and 36.7% in 2000, but the Northeast had the biggest percentage of Indians in 2010 (33.7%).

In absolute figures, the biggest Indian population in the country is found in Amazonas (168.7 thousand persons, or 20.6% of the national Indian population) and the smallest population is found in Rio Grande do Norte (2.5 thousand, or 0.3%). Only six Federation Units in 2010 had more than 1% of the population as self-declared Indians. On the other hand, 13 Federation Units recorded percentages of Indian population below the national average (0.4%).

In 2010, five municipalities had more than 10 thosand Indians

The 10 municipalities with the biggest Indian population, according to the 2010 Census, concentrated 126.6 thousand Indians, what corresponds to 15.5% of the national Indian population. Five of these municipalities had more than 10 thousand resident Indians, and four municipalities of this group are located in Amazonas: São Gabriel da Cachoeira (29.0 thousand), São Paulo de Olivença (15.0 thousand), Tabatinga (14.9 thousand), Santa Isabel do Rio Negro (10.9 thousand).  Besides these, among the capitals, only São Paulo surpassed this figure, with 13.0 thousand Indians.

The 10 municipalities with the biggest Indian population, according to the 2010 Census, concentrated 126.6 thousand Indians, what corresponds to 15.5% of the national Indian population. Among them, five municipalities – four of which are located in Amazonas - had more than 10 thousand resident Indians,São Gabriel da Cachoeira (29.0 thousand), São Paulo de Olivença (15.0 thousand).  Besides these, among the capitals, only São Paulo surpassed this figure, with 13.0 thousand Indians.

An analysis of the urban area shows that São Paulo had the biggest population of Indians (11.9 thousand), followed by São Gabriel da Cachoeira (11.0 thousand). In the rural area, São Gabriel da Cachoeira was in the first position, with 18.0 thousand Indians.

In terms of proportion of the Indian population in the total population of municipalities, the biggest percentage was that of Uiramutã (RR), 88.1%. In the urban area, the municipality of Marcação (PB) was a highlight, with 66.2% of Indians; in the rural area, the main municipality was São Gabriel da Cachoeira, where 95.5% of the residents are Indians.

Censuses improve Indian identification tests throughout the years

The item color of the population has been considered since the very first census, in 1872. This item was also included in the Censuses of 1890, 1940 up to 1960, and from 1980 to 2010. In the Censuses of 1940 and and 1950, the language spoken by those who did not usually speak Portuguese at home was also investigated, and it was possible to quantify the Indians, since they still used their native language. In 1960, the category “Indian” was included in the color item, but only with reference to the Indians living in villages or posts.

In the 1991 Census, the item began to be called “color or race”, with the entry of the category “Indian”, investigated at national level, within the survey sample, a procedure that was maintained in 2000. In 2010, the item was included in the Universe questionnaire. The 2010 census also brought improvement to the investigation of this population, with the introduction of Indian identification criteria used in the national Censuses of other countries: ethnic identity, language spoken in the household and geographic location.  

The 2010 Census will lead to the knowledge of the great Indian diversity existing in Brazil and a to better understanding of the composition of this population segment: Indians living in their lands; urbanized Indians with an ethnic identity associated to specific indigenous peoples and persons who declare to be Indians, but who do not identify with any specific ethnicities.  More information from the 2010 Census relative to the language spoken by Indians and results relative to their lands are expected for July 2012.