Uatú Júpú: a history of the indigenous Rio Doce

Abstract

This essay examines the long history of resistance by Jê speaking indigenous peoples who have inhabited the basins of the Doce River and its many tributaries.  It provides an overview from the colonial era to the present, examining the disparate perceptions and uses that Portuguese and Jê-speaking indigenous peoples have applied to river systems in Brazil.  For native communities, the Doce is a source of both spiritual and material sustenance.   Portuguese explorers, settlers, and miners viewed rivers as potential transportation and sources of gold and gems. This mutually conflictive history contributes to our understanding of why and how access to rivers has mattered historically and continues to matter in the wake of the Fundão Dam breach in Mariana, Minas Gerais, in 2015.