Tupiniquim
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tupiniquim is the name of an Amerindian tribe who now only live in three reservations (terras indígenas in Portuguese). All three are located in the municipality of Aracruz in northern Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. As of 1997 their population was of 1.386. They are speakers of Portuguese and no longer speak their native language which was a member of the Tupi-Guarani family.
Historically the Tupiniquim inhabited a large tract of coast from about 200 km south of Salvador down to São Mateus river. This is north of the present day Aracruz reservations and extended for about 600 km. Present day Reservations have been inhabited by the Tupiniquim since the founding of Santa Cruz and Nova Almeida (then Reis Magos), both of which had a large Amerindian majority in their populations during their first 200 years or so. The name of the three reservations they now inhabit are Caieiras Velhas, Pau-Brasil, and Comboios. This community lives in an area covered with rainforests.
Aracruz Cellulose has a land dispute with them. In the 1990s, due to the devastation caused by this corporation, few of the previously about 40 villages remained.
