2000 Waimiri-Atroari Disappeared During the Military Dictatorship
Why did Kamña kill Kiña? In June of 1985, sitting in the company of two of the Waimiri-Atoari or Kiña people on the sidewalk in front of the FUNAI building in Brasilia, one of them asked point blank, “What exactly did the civilized people throw down from the airplane that burned our bodies from the inside?” Later when Doroti and I were conducting classes and the people had confidence in us, similar questions emerged, “Why did the Kamña (civilized people) kill the Kiña?” “What did the Kamña throw from the airplane that killed the Kiña?” The Kamña threw kawuni (from above, from the airplane) something, like a powder that burns the throat and the Kiña died soon after.” “Apiyemeyekî?” (Why?). Initially we tried to avoid their curiosity about these issues, knowing the liability of FUNAI (Brazilian National Indian Foundation) and the Armed Forces, those solely responsible for the fate of these people. A sentence composed by one of our students, Damxiri, read: “Apapeme yinp...