Traditional peoples in Brazil

Traditional Populations, Traditional Peoples or Traditional Communities, under Brazilian law, are groups that have a culture that is different from the prevailing local culture and that maintain a way of life closely linked to the natural environment in which they live. Through its own forms - social organization, the use of territory and natural resources (with a subsistence relationship) - its socio-cultural-religious reproduction using knowledge transmitted orally and in daily practice.

Officially, according to the Federal Government, to be recognized as traditional, it is necessary to carry out daily production practices based on sustainable development.  It is estimated that in Brazil around 4.5 million people are part of these communities, occupying 25% of the national territory.

The term "traditional peoples" is defined as a larger legal category which includes, but is neither exclusive nor replacing of, Brazil's indigenous peoples.

Government recognition

In 2007, the Federal Government of Brazil formally recognized the existence of so-called traditional populations (Presidential Decree 6040 of February 7), ^[1]  expanding the recognition partially made in the 1988 Constitution (only indigenous and quilombola) to cover the following communities: caboclo; caiçara; extractive; jangadeiro; fisherman; riverside; tapper; in addition to indigenous and quilombola. ^[2] The law also established the "National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities" (PNPCT), subordinated to the Ministry of the Environment. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2016, Decree 8750 was issued by President Dilma Rousseff, establishing the National Council of Traditional Peoples and Communities (CNPCT). It was initially established as an arm of the Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger. In 2018, under the presidencies of Michel Temer and later Jair Bolsonaro, the council was shifted to the Ministry of Woman, Family and Human Rights as per Decree 9.465.

In 2023, under President Lula da Silva, the council was expanded and shifted to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. In addition, Lula established a National Secretariat for Traditional Peoples and Communities and Sustainable Rural Development under the same ministry. Other offices, particularly those concerning the quilombola communities, are housed under the Ministry of Racial Equality and other independent government agencies, such as INCRA and the Palmares Cultural Foundation.

List of traditional communities

People/Communities	Habitat	Activity	References
Andirobeiras		use of the Andirobeira tree	[1]
Apanhadores de Flores Sempre Viva	Diamantina, Minas Gerais	flower picking
Benzedeiros
Caatingueiros	caatinga	animal husbandry
Caboclos
Caiçaras	Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná	fishing	[1]
Caipira	Paraná		[1]
Castanheiras	amazon		[1]
Catadores de Mangaba	sergipe		[1]
Chapadeiros
Cipozeiros	Santa Catarina, Paraná and São Paulo	Imbe plant harvest	[1]
Extrativistas	Marajó, Pará	açaí, fishing, shrimp	[1]
Extrativistas marinho
Faxinalenses	Paraná	animal husbandry	[1]
Fundo de Pasto	Bahia, Pernambuco and Piauí	raising goats and sheep	[1]
Geraizeiros	Minas Gerais	agriculture, livestock and collection	[1]
Ilhéus	Paraná	fish catcher	[1]
Indigenous peoples	in all regions	fishing, gathering and small farming	[1]
Isqueiros	Pantanal, Mato Grosso	fishing bait collector	[1]
Jangadeiros
Marisqueiros
Morroquianos	Caceres, Mato Grosso	smallholders	[1]
Pantaneiros	Pantanal, Mato Grosso	livestock	[1]
Pescadores Artesanais		fishing	[1]
Piaçaveiros	amazon	piassava fiber processing	[1]
Pomeranos			[1]
Terreiros	in all regions		[1]
Quebradeiras de Coco Babaçu	Maranhão, Pará, Piauí und Tocantins	babassu fruit harvest	[1]
Quilombolas	in all regions		[1]
Retireiros	Northeast of Mato Grosso	livestock and agriculture	[1]
Ribeirinhos	amazon	fishing, gathering and farming
Romani people			[1]
Seringueiros	amazon	rubber cones	[1]
Vazanteiros	Minas Gerais	Agriculture	[1]
Veredeiros	North of Minas Gerais, Bahia and Midwest		[1]

References

1. "Apresentação portal Ypadê". Ypadê. Comissão Nacional para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável dos Povos e Comunidades Tradicionais – CNPCT.
2. "Comunidades ou Populações Tradicionais". www.ecobrasil.eco.br. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
3. "Povos e Comunidades Tradicionais". Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2025-04-03. Retrieved 2025-04-18.