From 1960 to 1990, the Fundação de Serviços de Saúde Pública (Public Health Services Foundation) was in charge of a network of health services across Brazil, in continuation of work previously done by the Serviço Especial de Saúde Pública (Special Public Health Service). The article presents a 2010 research conducted in the state of Amazonas regarding the Foundation's activities among indigenous populations based on interviews with the Foundation's personnel and the analysis of its documentation. The findings indicate that while the Foundation had no formal policy for indigenous populations, in practice its staff did serve indigenes since in most municipalities in the interior of Amazonas they comprised a significant number of the inhabitants.
indigenous health; Serviço Especial de Saúde Pública; Fundação de Serviços de Saúde Pública; Amazonas; public health policy
