One of the little-known aspects in the history of health policies in Brazil was the creation of an Assistance Service for the nation's Indian tribes. The idea was the initiative of a doctor and Indian specialist, Noel Nutels, who set up the Airborne Sanitary Service Units (SUSA). The proposition of this work is to trace the trajectory of the service and relate it to the characteristics taken on by the policy Brazil adopted in relation to its Indians. The policy has been noted for the voluntary and humanitarian efforts of certain individuals, which stand in sharp contrast to the violent and brutal expansion of the frontier by Brazilian capitalism.