The Maxakali of the Indigenous Lands of Água Boa and Pradinho/Minas Gerais and the crisis of the Indian Protection Service (1910-1967)

Los Maxakali de las Tierras Indígenas de Água Boa y Pradinho/Minas Gerais y la crisis del Servicio de Protección al Indio (1910-1967)

Abstract

The Maxakali are a people belonging to the Jê linguistic family, who occupy the territories between the Pardo and Doce rivers, principally in the northeast of Minas Gerais state, and were under the protection of the Indian Protection Service (SPI) from 1940 to 1967. Throughout their historical process, they suffered from a lack of resources, trained professionals, corruption and inefficiency, as well as hunger, poverty, dispossession and violence as a result of the deplorable services provided by the SPI during the last decade of its existence. The aim of this article is to analyse the historical process that led to the end of the activities of the Indian Protection Service with the Maxakali. The methodology used was descriptive ex post facto research, based on bibliographical and documentary sources, with the main source being the SPI documents made available by the National Museum of Indigenous People, Rio de Janeiro.

Keywords:
Maxakali; SPI; Indigenous Lands of Água Boa and Pradinho.