O Museu do Índio (English: The Museum of the Indian) is a cultural and scientific agency of the

Fundação Nacional do Índio Fundação Nacional do Índio (, ''National Indian Foundation'') or FUNAI is a Brazilian governmental protection agency for Amerindian interests and their culture. Original founding as Indian Protection Service In 1910, the Indian Protecti ...

(English: National Foundation of the Indian) or FUNAI. It was created by

Darcy Ribeiro Darcy Ribeiro (October 26, 1922 – February 17, 1997) was a Brazilian anthropologist, historian, sociologist, author and politician. His ideas have influenced several scholars of Brazilian and Latin American studies. As Minister of Educat ...

, in the city of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1953. As the only official institution in Brazil exclusively dedicated to

indigenous cultures Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

(the people known as ''povos indígenas'' in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

), the

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

has the objective of promoting an accurate and updated image for the indigenous cause, while avoiding common misconceptions and prejudice of these

societies A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societi ...

Collections

The rich collection of the museum, which includes most of the present-day indigenous societies, is composed of 14,000

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

parts. In the

Marechal Rondon Leopoldo Marechal (June 11, 1900 – June 26, 1970) was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century. Biographical notes Born in Buenos Aires into a family of French and Spanish descent, Marechal became a primary scho ...

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, 16,000 national and foreign publications specialized in

ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...

and other related areas, plus 50,000 images in diverse environments, including 3,000 digital photographs on

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

, about 200

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

videos Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

, and

sound recordings Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

, as well as 500,000 documents of historical value relating to various indigenous groups and their political situation in Brazil from the end of 19th century to the present. In the eleven rooms of the main building, the Museu do Índio organizes the temporary showing of samples of

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s and photos using the collection storied in its archives. In the gardens of the institution there are five different environments, including a Guarani

fazenda A ''fazenda'' () is a plantation found throughout Brazil during the colonial period (16th - 18th centuries). They were concentrated primarily in the northeastern region, where sugar was produced in the ''engenhos'', expanding during the 19th ...

, a Xingu kitchen and ritual house for the Xingu

Quarup The Quarup or Kuarup is the principal funeral ritual of the Indigenous people of the Xingu. It is a gathering of all neighbouring tribes to celebrate life, death, and rebirth. One of its central events is the presentation of all young girls who h ...

(also spelled "Kuarup").

History

In 1978, the museum was moved to an old

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word '' manse'' originally defined a property l ...

built in the era of the 1880s, in the

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

district. It had been originally constructed by João Rodrigues Teixeira, an entrepreneur involved in the

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...

of Rio de Janeiro. Constructed by Teixeita as his family residence, the mansion house is registered by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional or IPHAN (English: National Institute of Historic and Artistic Sites). The architectural style of its construction is quite representative of this period of urban growth. In March 2013, police stormed the site of the previous museum building that once housed Brazil’s first Indian Museum. The objective was to end a standoff with more than 20 indigenous protesters who had squatted for years in an adjacent structure.''Police Storm Squatters at Rio Stadium Site''
March 22, 2013,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Museum of the Indian Friends Society

Sociedade Amigos do Museu do Índio (SAMI) is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

with the objective of bringing the museum together with the public. SAMI develops projects which originate from the Brazilian indigenous cultures. It makes acquisitions of artifacts and collections, with the intention of preserving the culture of indigenous traditions. It promotes educational courses, seminaries, and other social and cultural events. Individuals and corporations that propose to help the society can be an associate in one of three categories: partner, contributor, or child benefactor. SAMI also accepts new memberships, as well as ideas, suggestions, and volunteers that will increase and ensure support for the scientific and cultural activities of the museum. This includes disseminating an accurate, current image of indigenous peoples without preconceptions.

Indian Art Store (Loja Artíndia)

The Loja Artíndia of the museum is one of the seven Artíndia Stores of FUNAI, which are maintained by the Artíndia Program. In these stores, arts and crafts acquired directly from the indigenous communities are sold. This guarantees these communities a source of revenue, and stimulates them to maintain their standard of culture. In addition, the store sells thematic

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

T-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generall ...

, CDs and CD-ROMs.

Location and hours

The museum is located at Rua das Palmeiras, 55, in the district of

. There is no parking for visitors, as this is reserved for employees, SAMI members, volunteers and maintenance. Hours are Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:30 pm, (closed Mondays except for school groups); Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 1 pm to 5pm (exhibit areas and art store only, as the library and other research areas are closed on weekends).

References

External links

Official site of the Museu do Índio
(

only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Museu Do Indio Indigenous peoples in Brazil History museums in Brazil Museums in Rio de Janeiro (city) Ethnographic museums in South America Native American museums