From the territory to Public Policy: The Collective Strength of Indigenous Peoples

By Thiago Aiamari Kavopi

Source: Thiago Aiamari Kavopi. Paikum Village, Kurâ-Bakairi Indigenous Territory, Municipality of Paranatinga, Mato Grosso, Central-West Brazil.

April is a symbolic month. For many, it is just another date on the calendar. For us, Indigenous peoples, it is a time of memory, struggle, and reaffirmation of our existence. I was born in the Kurâ-Bakairi Indigenous Territory, located in the municipality of Paranatinga, Mato Grosso, Brazil. I am Kurâ-Bakairi. Kurâ means “people,” “we, human beings.” This word already reveals much about how we understand the world: no one exists alone. Life happens through relationships—with others, with the territory, with nature, and with the collective memory of our people. My earliest memories are deeply connected to life in the village: the river, the forest, the animals, the cycles of rain and drought, family, and the sense of belonging. In our worldview, everything is interconnected and constantly in motion to sustain social and spiritual life. The territory is not just a geographic space; it is a place of belonging, learning, and continuity of our history.

I completed all my basic education—elementary and high school—within the village, with Indigenous teachers from my own people. In that environment, I learned not only school subjects but also fundamental values about collectivity, respect for the territory, and responsibility to the community. Living in the village, therefore, has never been just a way of life. It is also a political act and a form of resistance.

When the time came to leave my territory to attend university, I knew that step was not just individual. I carried with me the teachings of my people and the collective expectation that this path could open new possibilities. Our presence in universities did not arise by chance; it is the result of decades of mobilization, political organization, and struggle for rights. Throughout history, we have faced processes of invisibility, exclusion, and constant attempts to erase our cultures and territories.

If today we occupy spaces in higher education, public institutions, and various professional fields, it is because of a collective journey built by many Indigenous leaders and movements. An important milestone in this process was the consolidation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the 1988 Federal Constitution, which recognized our rights to social organization, culture, and territories. From this recognition, paths were opened for the creation of specific public policies and for greater Indigenous participation in the institutional life of the Brazilian state.

Today I work in the field of Indigenous health, developing actions focused on mental health in Indigenous territories. This experience allows me to see, in practice, how public policies achieved over time can become concrete care within communities.

But working with mental health in an Indigenous context requires more than applying techniques learned at university. It requires understanding the territory, listening to the people’s stories, respecting community decisions, and recognizing that human suffering cannot be analyzed in isolation. It is deeply connected to the historical, social, and cultural conditions that shape collective life.

When I enter a village to carry out mental health initiatives, I do not enter only as a psychologist. I enter as part of a people who have always known how to care for themselves, even in the face of countless attempts at erasure. In this process, the presence of Indigenous professionals within public policies also brings transformations to the institutions themselves.

By occupying these spaces, we are not merely adapting to them. We are actively participating, as protagonists, in the consolidation of public policies aimed at Indigenous peoples—without losing our identity or renouncing our ancestral roots—bringing our voices and struggles into these policies. Therefore, my journey—from the territory to the university, from public policies back to the territory—is not just an individual story. It is part of a collective path built by the strength and mobilization of Indigenous peoples. Over recent decades, and indeed since the invasion, our peoples have fought not only to secure rights but also to be protagonists of our own history. Every space we now occupy in universities, institutions, and public policies is the result of this collective struggle. It is also proof that we remain alive, organized, and committed to building a future in which our peoples continue to exist with dignity, autonomy, and voice.

About the author:

Father of Sam and Thales, married to Jasilene. An Indigenous member of the Kurâ-Bakairi people, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Federal University of Mato Grosso (2016) and is licensed by the Regional Council of Psychology of Mato Grosso (CRP–18/03227). He specializes in mental health in Indigenous contexts and has worked since 2018 in the Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI – Cuiabá). He was a psychologist at the Social Assistance Reference Center (CRAS) in Paranatinga (2017–2018). He is a full member of the Regional Council of Psychology of Mato Grosso (2025–2028). He previously coordinated the Human Rights and Public Policy Commission of the same council (2024–2025) and currently coordinates the Psychology and Indigenous Peoples Commission of CRP–18/MT.

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