The introduction of Wikipedia’s article on the “indigenous peoples in Brazil” contains several interesting pieces of information – most starkly the scale by which the region’s indigenous population declined following the arrival of the Portuguese, but also the manner through which they gathered food and other necessities for themselves. Their domestication of tobacco is particularly interesting from an American and Eurocentric perspective, since this innovation would yield a vital cash crop for some of the British colonies in North America in subsequent centuries.

The first “body” section of this article concerns itself with the geographical “origins” of Brazil’s indigenous populations, specifically the exodus of their ancestors from Siberia and East Asia. The free encyclopedia deserves praise for its differentiation between the vast multitude of these groups, tracing existing tribes back to individual waves of migration using genetic and linguistic analysis. There does appear, however, to be a deficit of source material in the small section that claims an absence of records or monuments left by defunct native civilizations; while it is quite possible that this claim is true, there is only one source to support it at the end of the section.

Though rich in detail and interesting to read, the next section is abysmal in terms of having been adequately sourced. Only a few citations are made throughout this portion of the text, with most constituent paragraphs containing none at all. To be fair, however, the sources listed for this section appear to be very broad and comprehensive. A significant portion of recorded history is covered here as well, ranging from as early as 1500 to as recent as November 2012. As such, depictions of the interactions between the indigenous peoples and others in the world around them range from their first contact with Europeans, to Brazilian independence, on into contemporary struggles to reassert control over their own land and natural resources.

The final paragraph concerns itself with additional issues confronting indigenous populations today, and discusses what actions some groups have taken to address them. It contrasts with some of the others in that it is very well-sourced, but is fortunately similar to them in that it makes efficient use of the space that it covers. “Urban,” “environmental,” and “territorial rights” movements are addressed, the last of which, it is claimed, has occasionally escalated into violent skirmishes with national authorities in recent years.