The pressing mental health problem in Brazil’s indigenous communities

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sworn in last Sunday, promised that the protection of indigenous peoples will be an important part of his government. As a signal of his intent, he announced the creation of the Indigenous People’s Ministry, led by activist and politician Sônia Guajajara — the first indigenous person to sit on Brazil’s cabinet.

And, beyond the dedicated cabinet department, key positions in policymaking and the protection of traditional people will also be held by indigenous figures for the first time. Joenia Wapichana will be the new head of Brazil’s indigenous foundation Funai, and lawyer and indigenous leader Weibe Tapeba is the Health Ministry’s new indigenous health secretary — a crucial department for Brazil’s traditional communities.

“From the point of view of mental health, our people, the indigenous people, are crazier than before. As a people, we are a little unbalanced,” said Daniel Munduruku in a recent interview. A writer and teacher, he is also a member of the indigenous Munduruku people.

In his view, the “arrival of the cities” — in other words, the invasion of indigenous communities by the white man — caused problems that were and continue to be detrimental to the mental health of traditional peoples. Perhaps the biggest of these is alcohol abuse, a factor often linked to violence, self-harm, and attempted suicide among indigenous people. 

Occurrences related to mental health in indigenous people have increased in recent years, and those involving the exaggerated consumption of alcoholic beverages jumped 137...