Stories of Paraná - Massacre of Indians

Stories of Paraná - Massacre of Indians

Massacre of Indians
Ivo Nalce

In the first decade of the century, Rondon said the Paraná was at the forefront of indigenous rights.
Only that, I say, the thing was not so.
In this century, the conflicts between Indians and whites in the backlands of Paraná happen for two reasons: one, reprisal attacks by the "savages" to kill whites to be foraging, either for revenge.
Bugreiro - slayer of Indians - it was like any other profession. There is the testimony of John Martins bugreiro who returned from a "hunt" bringing a little Indian boy trapped, is the monk John Mary: to know that the Indians were baptized, as I assured the infalíveljoão Maria José Martins repented and dropped his profession.
"The lands which the Indians occupy centuries belong in fact to others who want to measure and cultivate." The sentence of a newspaper of Parana shows clearly the second and main reason of conflict between whites and Indians in this century: the struggle for land. The Indian was a hindrance to the full occupation of the fertile territory of Paraná.
In April 1909, the settlers Pirai slaughtering one taba entire India and bring a girl as a trophy, probably to serve later as labor-unpaid work.
In Rio Negro and Palmas always been killings of Indians. The pacification Botocudo Palmas, occurred only in 1915. In the fifties, the Xetás disappeared from the map when speculation colonizing destroyed their forests. The conflict by pinewoods Indian Reservation Mangueirinha actually did not end with the murder of the chief Angelo Cretan in 1980.
All this serves as an introduction to tell the great massacre Caingangues in Santo Antonio da Platina.
In April 1911, Colonel (honorary) Evergisto Alves Cowl, wealthy farmer established on the left bank of the River Ash met thirteen pawns to Caingangues expedition against the wild inhabitants of the forest between the rivers of ash and Tibagy.
Another farmer gave "passoca" - a fat cow for churrasquearem during the hunt - and the party began.
One of Caingangues even shot, threw himself into the River Ash and reached the other shore.
While pouring blood, climbed the embankment, the bugreiros platinenses patiently lined up to shoot, marksmanship training. The bloody carcass of Caingangue is swept downstream.
It is estimated that at least twenty Caingangues those killed during the five days of the "hunt". A dead Caingangue times before by flechar white boy did not come into account, only after death, tore his jaw, which was taken as a trophy to Italy for a traveler.
A peaceful Cayua also not entered in the account because it was killed by a Caingangue. Indian killed by Indians not count.
Jose Osorio, SPI inspector
- Protection Service-Indians in Paraná, complains and Dr. Freire, promoter of the District with the reputation of a man of integrity, denounces fourteen bugreiros.
But as no one was picking the corpses of Caingangues in the forest, there was no evidence.
The defendants claim that they were to kill churrasquear.
Despite complaints from the Indian Protection Service, the survey gave in pizza, or rather gave in passoca.

Ivo Nalce historian


Source: Stories of Paraná, Brasil.