The Zo’é Program operates in the Zo’é Indigenous Land, located in the north of the state of Pará, in the northern region of Brazil.
While the Zo’é Program was established in 2016, the involvement of founding members of Iepé with this people began in the 1990s when some anthropological studies were conducted in the region, especially those aimed at demarcating the Zo’é Indigenous Land, which was concluded in 2000, covering 668,000 hectares, and officially recognized in 2009, in the municipality of Óbidos, Pará.
Contacted by members of the New Tribes Mission in 1987 and exclusively assisted by Funai since 1991, the Zo’é people were introduced to the world through numerous reports that described them as one of the last “untouched” peoples in the Amazon rainforest. Indeed, during that period, the actions of the indigenous agency were focused on maintaining the isolation of this people, keeping them away from interactions with non-Indigenous people, their belongings, and ways of life.
The work began with participatory surveys of the forms of land occupation and management, the results of which were discussed by members of all local groups to assess and plan for the future. This effort resulted in the Zo’é Indigenous Land’s Territorial and Environmental Management Plan, one of the first constructed with a recently contacted people, published in 2019. Since then, the program has continued its educational efforts, including literacy meetings, workshops in the villages, and the development of educational materials to promote Zo’é language literacy.
The Zo’é Program also invests in various territorial protection actions, supporting the Zo’é’s surveillance initiatives through family movements across the territory and the construction of new villages. They also assist expeditions led by FPE CPM to monitor the boundaries of the Indigenous Land. Iepé contributes to the structuring of a Zo’é Handicraft Fund (FAZ), an initiative that seeks to valorize Zo’é knowledge while providing a source of collective income.
| ZO’É INDIGENOUS LAND: | |
| AREA | 668,565 hectares |
| POPULATION (Source: IEPÉ, 2019) | 315 |
| NUMBER OF VILLAGES (Source: IEPÉ, 2019) | 47 |
| PEOPLE | Zo’é |
| LANGUAGE | Zo’é |
| MUNICIPALITIES | Óbidos (Pará) |
| LEGAL STATUS | Homologated – Decree without number – 12/22/2009 |