[Demographic profile of the Xavánte Indian population in Sangradouro-Volta Grande, Mato Grosso].
This paper analyzes the demographic profile of the Xavánte population at the Sangradouro-Volta Grande Indigenous Reserve in Mato Grosso, Brazil, from 1993 to 1997. The survey included annual censuses and vital statistics from 7 Xavánte villages. Permanent contact with Brazilian national society, established in the 1940s and 50s, caused a population drop due to epidemics and clashes. In 1995 there were 825 individuals in the community. The crude birth rate (57.7/1,000) and death rate (9.1/1,000) were higher than the national averages. The majority (56%) of the population is under 15 years of age (median: 13 years) and the infant mortality rate is high (87.1 per thousand live births), probably resulting from precarious sanitary conditions in the villages. Other results included the persistence of polygyny; low levels of migration; a dynamic of splits and formation of new villages; traditional housing patterns maintained in the old villages and abandoned in the new ones. The recent demographic recovery in the data from Sangradouro-Volta Grande is similar to that observed in the Pimentel Barbosa community. The study highlights the importance of systematically collecting and analyzing demographic data from indigenous populations.
Souza
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LG
Distrito Sanitário Especial Indígena Xavánte, Fundação Nacional de Saúde, Barra do Garças, MT, 78600-000, Brasil. lucienegsouza@uol.com.br
Santos
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RV
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001723:Birth Rate / Q000208:ethnology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality