Profile

The Nambiquara are located in the north-western region of Mato Grosso, and are located in 10villages along the Porto-Velho-Cuiabá highway. The Nambiquara are known as Southern Nambikuara, Nambikuara do Sul and Nambikwara. They are primarily hunter gatherers. By 1985 the remaining 1,200 Nambiquara lived on a tiny arid reserve where they suffered malnutrition and imported diseases such as typhoid and yellow fever.

Historical context

In 1960 the BR-364 highway, part of the Polonoroeste project, was bulldozed straight through Nambiquara land, and the tribe relocated to a tiny arid reserve. In 1985 the remaining 1,200 Nambiquara led protests against the invasion and the proposed construction of a hydroelectric dam on their lands. In September 1993 the logging company Anilton Antonio Pompermayer was ordered to pay an indemnity of US $200,000 to a group of Nambiquara for illegal invasion and logging in their Guaporé reserve.

Current issues

The Nambiquara, have conducted their own community census and their population is growing slightly. Medical and educational services are being offered with greater frequency throughout the community, but more support is still needed.

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