Parasitismo intestinal em uma aldeia indígena Parakanã, sudeste do Estado do Pará, Brasil

O trabalho visa estudar a ocorrência e os aspectos epidemiológicos do parasitismo intestinal na aldeia Paranatinga da tribo indígena Parakanã, Amazônia Oriental Brasileira. Foram realizados dois inquéritos coproparasitológicos, em abril de 1992 e em fevereiro de 1995. Os métodos utilizados na identificação dos agentes parasitários foram os de Hoffman e exame direto, dois métodos simples, facilmente exeqüíveis em aldeias indígenas. Da amostra de 126 índios em abril de 1992 (população de 215 índios), 101 (80,2%) encontravam-se parasitados por pelo menos um enteroparasita. Ancilostomídeos foram encontrados em 33,3%, A. lumbricoides, em 42,8%, T. trichiura, em 0,8%, e S. stercoralis, em 5,6%. Em relação aos protozoários, E. histolytica foi encontrada em 65,0% e G. lamblia, em 46,8%. No inquérito de fevereiro de 1995, apesar do aumento da prevalência total em comparação com o de abril de 1992 (p = 0,04), houve diminuição das prevalências de ancilostomídeos, E. histolytica, G. lamblia, e ausência de S. stercoralis (p<0,05). A despeito das ações de saúde e saneamento empreendidas nas aldeias Parakanã, a prevalência de enteroparasitas ainda se encontra elevada na aldeia Paranatinga, sugerindo que as medidas de atenção primária e secundária devem ser imediatamente incrementadas.

Desafios do currículo multicultural na educação superior para indígenas

O artigo avalia como a universidade brasileira está enfrentando os desafios curriculares para atender à demanda de alunos índios diante do recente acesso institucionalizado dos povos indígenas à educação superior. Apresenta-se a trajetória da educação escolar indígena até a universidade ocorrida nos primeiros anos da década de 2000, após as mudanças promovidas pela Constituição Federal de 1988, que reconheceu o direito indígena à alteridade. A questão central levantada é: o currículo da educação superior está em consonância com a perspectiva multicultural? Mostra-se um retrato da situação brasileira, desenhado a partir de pesquisa documental feita em sites governamentais e não governamentais, além de portais de notícia. Com discussões teóricas em torno do que é o currículo multicultural, destaca-se que, devido aos problemas relatados, a prática de ações afirmativas para promover o acesso de indígenas ao ensino superior tem-se limitado a um multiculturalismo reparador. Expõe-se também o resultado de pesquisa feita com discentes indígenas de um dos cursos mais procurados da Universidade Federal do Pará, que revelou contradições e resignação: os entrevistados apontam a existência de um etnocentrismo curricular, mas dizem que a formação é satisfatória para o exercício da profissão escolhida. Discute-se o fenômeno à luz da semelhança com o multiculturalismo curricular norte-americano. Os resultados indicam que a igualdade no acesso à educação não é obtida simplesmente pela igualdade de acesso a um currículo hegemônico. Sugere-se pensar currículos que considerem as múltiplas identidades e diferenças de nossa sociedade, bom como o modo como estas são produzidas e reproduzidas constantemente por meio das relações de poder.

Terras tradicionalmente ocupadas por índios: fundamentos para uma aplicação limitada da Súmula 650 do STF

O pluralismo é uma marca da democracia contemporânea e a Constituição de 1988 representou um importante avanço na proteção das diversidades no Brasil, consagrando a multiplicidade de idéias, culturas e etnias, e pressupondo o diálogo entre opiniões e pensamentos divergentes. Neste contexto, os povos indígenas adquiriram o direito à alteridade, ou seja, foram respeitadas as suas especificidades étnico-culturais, garantindo-lhes o direito de serem e permanecerem índios. A delimitação, a desintrusão e a proteção de um espaço territorial adequado para os diferentes povos indígenas são consideradas como uma condição essencial para a sobrevivência física e cultural desses grupos. O presente trabalho pretende, então, analisar a interpretação adotada pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) na Súmula 650, acerca do termo “terras tradicionalmente ocupadas por índios” (CF/88 art. 231, §§ 1º e 2º), de forma a compreender o seu alcance e os seus limites de aplicação. Para tanto, inicialmente, foi reconstruído o itinerário do conceito nos julgados do STF, analisando-se as decisões que trataram do tema. O marco inicial é a Súmula 480 e seus precedentes e o final, a Súmula 650, com a análise dos casos que a conformaram. Como resultado, verificou-se que, nas decisões anteriores à Súmula 650, o Tribunal se afastou do conceito civil de posse para contemplar um conceito de posse indígena, no qual a atualidade pode ser secundária, diante de provas que comprovem a ocupação tradicional. Da análise dos precedentes da Súmula 650, constatou-se que o julgamento envolveu um contexto histórico específico, onde os povos indígenas estavam extintos. Por outro lado, foram utilizados argumentos generalizantes que se indiscriminadamente aplicados poderão causar sérios prejuízos aos direitos territoriais indígenas, sobretudo quanto à restituição de terras tradicionais. A partir dos resultados, concluiu-se que o Enunciado da Súmula 650 não pode ser aplicado de forma generalizada, apresentando-se como fundamentos para uma aplicação limitada a faticidade e historicidade do caso concreto; a Convenção 169 da OIT e orientações da Agenda 21; e as demais interpretações do STF acerca do termo “terras tradicionalmente ocupadas”.

Fatores de risco para doenças cardiovasculares: um estudo comparativo entre indigenas, brancos, pardos/negros que residem na cidade de Manaus

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Myrcia bella Leaf Extract Presents Hypoglycemic Activity via PI3k/Akt Insulin Signaling Pathway

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Plantas entre los juruna: en busca de una metodología para el estudio del léxico

This paper presents methodological considerations related to the study of the plant lexicon of the Juruna ethnic group, an indigenous people of the Xingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The language of this ethnic group, along with that spoken by the Xipaya, belongs to the Juruna family of the Tupi stock. It is a tonal language with SOV syntactic structure (Fargetti 1992, 2007), and presents interesting processes of reduplication (Fargetti 1997). Part of our broader research project on the lexicology and lexicography of the language, research on the Juruna plant lexicon is still in development, together with studies of other semantic fields such as birds, material culture, and kinship relations. However, it is already possible to see interesting linguistic issues involving word formation, as well as issues of the relationship between language and culture (especially those related to “perspectivism”). These issues are presented in this paper.

Territórios, multiterritorialidades e memórias dos povos Guarani e Kaiowá: diferenças geográficas e as lutas pela Des-colonização na Reserva Indígena e nos acampamentos-tekoha - Dourados/MS

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Marcadores de tempo Apyãwa: a solidariedade entre os povos e o ambiente que habitam

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Por uma rebeldia mundial? Formação e ação territorial da Via Campesina no Brasil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Cystic Echinococcosis in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic

The northern biotype of Echinococcus granulosus occurs throughout the holarctic zones of tundra and taiga, from eastern Fennoscandia to the Bering Strait in Eurasia and in North America from arctic Alaska approximately to the northern border of the United States. The cycle of the cestode is complex in taiga at lower latitudes, because of the greater diversity of potential hosts. In the Arctic and Subarctic, however, four patterns of predator/prey relationships may be discerned. Two natural cycles involve the wolf and wild reindeer and the wolf and elk (moose), respectively. Where deer of the two species coexist, both are prey of the wolf; the interactions of the wolf and elk are here described on the basis of long-term observations made on Isle Royale (in Lake Superior near the southern limit of taiga), where only the wolf and elk serve as hosts for E. granulosus. A synanthropic cycle involving herding-dogs and domesticated reindeer caused hyperendemicity of cystic echinococcosis in arctic Eurasia, mainly in northeastern Siberia. The 4th pattern, a semi-synanthropic cycle, formerly existed in Alaska, wherein sled-dogs of the indigenous hunters became infected by consuming the lungs of wild reindeer. The sequence of changes in life-style inherent in the process of acculturation affected the occurrence of cystic echinococcosis among nomadic Iñupiat in arctic Alaska. When those people became sedentary, the environs of their early villages soon became severely contaminated by feces of dogs, and cases of cystic echinococcosis occurred. Compared to cystic echinococcosis caused by E. granulosus adapted to synanthropic hosts (dog and domestic ungulates), the infection produced by the northern biotype is relatively benign. 0fearly all diagnosed cases of cystic echinococcosis (> 300 in Alaska have occurred in indigenous people; only one fatality has been recorded (in a non-indigenous person). After sled-dogs were replaced by machines, cases have become rare in Alaska. A similar effect has been observed in Fennoscandia, in the Saami and domesticated reindeer. Recent records indicate tbat the prcvalence of cystic echinococcosis is increasing in Russia, suggesting that dogs are used there in herding.

Determination of dimethyltryptamine and beta-carbolines (ayahuasca alkaloids) in plasma samples by LC-MS/MS

Background: Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant beverage originally used by indigenous people throughout the Amazon Basin, long before its modern use by syncretic religious groups established in Brazil, the USA and European countries. The objective of this study was to develop a method for quantification of dimethyltryptamine and beta-carbolines in human plasma samples. Results: The analytes were extracted by means of C18 cartridges and injected into LC-MS/MS, operated in positive ion mode and multiple reaction monitoring. The LOQs obtained for all analytes were below 0.5 ng/ml. By using the weighted least squares linear regression, the accuracy of the analytical method was improved at the lower end of the calibration curve (from 0.5 to 100 ng/ml; r(2)> 0.98). Conclusion: The method proved to be simple, rapid and useful to estimate administered doses for further pharmacological and toxicological investigations of ayahuasca exposure.

Hunting in Ancient and Modern Amazonia: Rethinking Sustainability

We use a recently developed computerized modeling technique to explore the long-term impacts of indigenous Amazonian hunting in the past, present, and future. The model redefines sustainability in spatial and temporal terms, a major advance over the static "sustainability indices" currently used to study hunting in tropical forests. We validate the model's projections against actual field data from two sites in contemporary Amazonia and use the model to assess various management scenarios for the future of Manu National Park in Peru. We then apply the model to two archaeological contexts, show how its results may resolve long-standing enigmas regarding native food taboos and primate biogeography, and reflect on the ancient history and future of indigenous people in the Amazon.

Regenwald in Guyana und Suriname : Institutionen und Akteure der Inwertsetzung des Regenwaldes durch Goldbergbau, Forstwirtschaft und Tourismus

Die südamerikanischen Staaten Guyana und Suriname sind ehemalige Kolonien, die über gigantische Rohstoffressourcen verfügen. In den Regenwäldern, die die Länder zu 80 - 90% bedecken, lagern Gold und Bauxit und es wachsen wertvolle Hölzer. Außerdem haben beide Länder das Potential für eine touristische Inwertsetzung ihres Landesinneren. rnEbenso vielfältig wie die Ressourcen der Guayanas sind die Interessen daran. International agierende Unternehmen, einheimische Goldsucher sowie Indigene, Naturschützer und Dienstleister aus der Tourismusbranche stellen sich widersprechende Ansprüche an Rohstofflagerstätten sowie an touristisch vermarktbare Landschaft und Natur. Die Regierungen stehen vor der Herausforderung, die politischen Rahmenbedingungen für die Nutzung der Ressourcen des Regenwaldes festzulegen. rnDie vorliegende empirische Studie analysiert vergleichend die Motivationen der Akteure und den Einfluss von Institutionen auf die Akteure in den unterschiedlichen politischen Systemen der Staaten Guyana und Suriname. Um die Strategien der Akteure zu verstehen, wird geklärt, welche institutionelle und länderspezifische Regelungssysteme – formeller und informeller Art – die Akteure beeinflussen und inwiefern sich dabei der Einfluss der kolonialen Vergangenheit beider Staaten bemerkbar macht. rnIm Fokus der Untersuchung stehen Akteure, die an der Inwertsetzung des Regenwaldes durch Bergbau, Forstwirtschaft und (Natur-)Tourismus auf lokaler Ebene beteiligt sind sowie länderspezifischen Institutionen, die den Handlungsrahmen für diese Akteure definieren. rn

Ancient Calendars and Bolivian Modernity: Tiwanaku’s Gateway of the Sun, Arthur Posnansky, and the World Calendar Movement of the 1930s

Tourists to the archaeological site of Tiwanaku are presented with ancient calendars, of which the Gateway of the Sun is the most important, famous, and beautiful. Arthur Posnansky and other early 20th-century archaeologists claimed that its inscriptions constituted a written calendar. These claims were intimately connected to narratives of Tiwanaku as a central source of knowledge in both pre-Columbian times and the contemporary world. Posnansky presented his interpretation of Tiwanaku’s calendars as a response to the debates of the World Calendar Movement, which in the 1930s was attempting to rationalize the Gregorian calendar. In the Gateway, Posnansky found a uniquely Bolivian response to the international, North Atlantic-dominated scientific community’s search for a rational way to keep time in the world economy. Bolivian intellectuals merged their interest in the indigenous past with their concerns about the role of the modernist Bolivian state in the global system.

Valorization of agrobiodiversity products and strengthening of local identities in the Peruvian Andes: Experiences from the BioAndes Programme

In the Peruvian Andes, a long history of interaction between the local populations and their natural environment has led to extraordinary levels of agrobiodiversity. However, in sharp contrast with this biological wealth, Andean indigenous populations live under most precarious conditions. Moreover, natural resources are undergoing severe degradation processes and local knowledge about biodiversity management is under serious pressure. Against this background, the BioAndes Programme is developing initiatives based on a biocultural approach that aim at fostering biodiversity through the enhancement of cultural processes. On the basis of intercultural dialogue, joint learning and capacity development, and transdisciplinary action-research, indigenous communities, development practitioners, and researchers strive for the creation of innovative ways to contribute to more sustainable economic, socio-cultural, and political valorization of Andean biodiversity. Project activities are diverse and range from the cultivation, transformation, and commercialization of organic Andean fruits in San Marcos, Cajamarca Department, to the recuperation of natural dying techniques for alpaca wool and traditional weaving in Pitumarca, Cusco Department, and the promotion of responsible ecotourism in both regions. Based on the projects’ first two-years of experience, the following lessons learnt will be presented and discussed: 1. The economic valorization and commercialization of local products can be a powerful tool for the revival and innovation of eroded know-how; at the same time it contributes to the strengthening of local identities, in parallel with the empowerment of marginalized groups such as smallholders and women. 2. Such initiatives are only successful when they are embedded within activities that go beyond the focus on local products and seek the valorization of the entire natural and cultural landscape (e.g. through the promotion of agrotourism and local gastronomy, more sustainable management of local resources including the restoration of ecosystems, and the realization of inventories of local agrobiodiversity and the knowledge related to it). 3. The sustainability of these initiatives, which are often externally induced, is conditioned by the ability of local actors to acquire ownership of projects and access to the knowledge required to carry them out, which also means developing the personal and institutional capacities for handling the whole chain from production to commercialization. 4. The confrontation of different economic rationalities and their underlying worldviews that occur when local or indigenous people integrate into the market economy implies the need for a dialogical co-production of knowledge and collective action by local people, experts from NGOs, and political authorities in order to better control the conditions relating to the market economy. The valorization of local agrobiodiversity shows much potential for enhancing natural and cultural diversity in Southern countries, but only when local communities can participate in the shaping of the conditions under which this happens. Such activities should be designed in the mid- to long-term as part of social learning processes that are carefully embedded in the local context. Supporting institutions play a crucial role in these processes, but should see themselves only as facilitators, while ensuring that control and ownership remain with the local actors.