Apinajé

The Apinajé are an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the state of Tocantins.

In the late 20th century, immigrants encroached on Apinajé lands. Their lands divided when highways such as the Belém-Brasilia Highway and the Trans-Amazonian Highway. Part of their lands separated by the Trans-Amazonian Highway was taken from them and the tribe is working to regain it.

Apinajé woman farm subsistence gardens, while men fell trees and plant rice. Common crops include bananas, beans, broad beans, papayas, peanuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, watermelons, and yams. Apinajé families raise cattle, pigs, and chickens. Hunting and fishing supplement domestic foods. In the past, babaçu nuts were sold for cash.

Apinajé people speak the Apinayé language, a Macro-Jê language. It is spoken in six villages by the majority of the tribe. Some Apinajé people also speak Portuguese.