On the night of this Wednesday (04), the Apucaraninha Indigenous Land, in the municipality of Tamarana, in northern Paraná, recorded a conflict between Indigenous people and security guards of a rancher from the region. The Kaingang say they were attacked around 23h, at the retomada Serrinha, where about 40 families live.
According to the coordinator of the retomada, Anilton Ayn My Lourenço, at the time of the attacks the Indigenous people were in a meeting attended by leaders of the Indigenous Land. The meeting was taking place at the headquarters of the Água Branca Village, which is next to the retomada, when guards of a rancher forced the doors of a school provisionally set up by the Indigenous people.
“Here we have a provisional school, which is for the children who cannot go to the main school. That school is at the headquarters of the occupied ranch. About 15 days ago the rancher hired guards, and yesterday they forced their way into the school, and that was what triggered the conflict,” he recounts.
The ranch in question is Tamarana, occupied by the Kaingang in September 2023. The area is part of a traditional territory of the Indigenous people, and is even recognized as Indigenous land by the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai).
Anilton reports that the guards went so far as to fire firearms when the Indigenous people tried to prevent the invasion of the school. “The guards fired into the air at the moment of the confusion. Fortunately no one was injured. But the situation here remains very tense,” he reveals.
According to the Indigenous people, the building at the ranch headquarters was not in use and was therefore used temporarily as a school until the community can build one. The measure was adopted to serve 21 early-grade children who live in the village and face difficulties attending the school at the main village due to poor road conditions and periods of rain. On Wednesday night, however, the place was invaded by the guards, which generated indignation in the community.
The Indigenous land has shrunk over the years
In 1955, the Kaingang Indigenous people received, by public deed, 6300 hectares of land that make up the Apucaraninha Indigenous Land. However, decades later, when Funai carried out a new survey, it was found that the reserve had only 5574 hectares. Thus, in 2003, in 2017, and again in 2023, the Indigenous people, claiming part of their territory by right, decided to occupy Fazenda Tamarana, which lies within the original area of the Indigenous Land.
Now the Indigenous people await a reparations agreement that could put an end to the occupation of Fazenda Tamarana and to conflicts that have stretched on for more than 20 years. In a communication to the Court of Justice of Paraná (TJ-PR), in September 2025, the Kaingang state that they decided to provisionally accept a proposal presented by the government of Paraná, through the Superintendency of Dialogue and Social Integration (SUDIS), for the peaceful transfer of the families who are at the ranch headquarters to an area of approximately 70 alqueires.
According to the leadership, the decision was made after analyzing two alternatives and with the aim of seeking a lasting solution for the territory. The community demands that the State acquire the area of Fazenda Apucaraninha, with about 405 alqueires, as a definitive solution to the conflict. According to the document sent by the leaders, the reserve currently shelters about 2,1 thousand Kaingang people, distributed among approximately one thousand families.
The leaders state that the move to the provisional settlement will depend on the installation of minimum infrastructure, such as electricity, drinking water, and temporary housing, in addition to institutional support for health care, education, and road access, with the participation of Funai, the state government, the Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health, and the Tamarana city hall.
In the document sent to the TJ, the community reinforces its commitment to a negotiated solution. “We seek alternatives without conflicts and are willing to participate in a working group with all those involved to find a definitive solution for a situation that has dragged on for almost 20 years,” say the leaders of the Serrinha Village.
