Regaining Pride

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"Formerly there was no one, only Enoré and his children. While fetching water on the leafy river for their father, under the burning sun, a snoring comming from the earth above shook the place. Accompanied by sacred singing flutes, out of the crevices of the broken rocks, the first Halíti danced. As if by a natural impulse to seek the light, a small bird flew out of the crevice. Squeezing its eyes, shielding them from the light, it marveled. After returning to the underground, it spread the discovery. Convinced of the adventure, the younger brothers of Wazáre joined it in the discovery of this new world. Thus, giving meaning to the rivers, mountains and forests, the Halítis appeared. Out of crevices through the riverbanks, they always remained close to the water flow. A liquid path that leads them to food, bathes them in a hot day and envelops in the moonlight. Nature means everything. All elements have a spirit." 

In the Juruena river basin nestled in Brazilian cerrado, live the Halíti people. With an ancient history of contact with non-indigenous people with often devastating consequences, including epidemics, forced labor, and the creation of educational centers directed and ordained by religious with the objective of catechizing them, keeping children at boarding school away from their families.
Moving on from this past, many villages of the Halíti people in the Utiariti Indigenous Territory have dedicated themselves to rescuing their culture, and to ensuring technical and higher education for their young while implementing different economic activities for the management and sustainable use of their land and natural resources for income generation (ethnotourism, agriculture, fish farming, beekeeping and livestock).

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