Over time, the Brazilian Indians suffer a violent process of decimation. When Brazil was discovered in the year of 1500 by Pathfinders, there were nearly 10 million Indians. Today that number does not exceed 600 thousand, according to FUNAI (the National Indian Foundation), the government agency responsible for indigenous issues in the country. Before the arrival of Brazilian Pathfinders on land, the land was totally free. The forest fully supported their needs, providing water, fish, fruits and medicinal plants.
Currently, the majority of Brazilian Indians are in extreme poverty caused by lack of land, natural resources and appropriate policies. In southern Brazil a significant number of Guaran? families living in camps on the banks of the roads, without clean water for drinking and prohibited to plant food for themselves and waiting for approval from the Brazilian government for the demarcation of land that one day their ancestors lived. Today, many court cases are against the presence of indigenous peoples in these areas, which further deteriorates the situation of most brazilian indians.