Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul
INDIGENIST MISSIONARY COUNCIL - CIMI
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The missionary activity of CIMI is based on the following
principles:
Respect for the indigenous otherness in its historical and
ethno-cultural plurality and the valorization of the traditional
knowledge and religiousness of the indigenous peoples;
- The protagonism of the indigenous peoples, CIMI being an ally
in the fight to have their historic rights guaranteed;
The choice for and commitment to the indigenous cause
within a broader perspective of a democratic, just, compassionate,
solidary, pluri-ethnic and pluricultural society.
And for this new society, forged in the struggle itself, Cimi
believes that the indigenous people are sources of inspiration for
the revision of the meaning: of the history, of social, political and
economic orientations and practices constructed until this day.
Just over 40 years ago, Cimi published its first document
reporting on the situation of violence that indigenous people in
Brazil were submitted to, not only because of the military period
and the expansion to the Amazon, but above all by the declared
policy of physical and cultural extermination executed against
these peoples. It is in this context that Cimi came into existence.
Today, Cimi is the largest nongovernmental organization working
with indigenous peoples in Brazil. Working via our teams in the
areas, we help these peoples to reflect on the problems they
experience, their relationship with the national society and we
focus especially in the study and knowledge of their rights. The
participation of indigenous peoples in the construction of the
present Federal Constitution had the singular support of Cimi, with
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