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By Staff Writers, teleSUR
teleSUR
Thursday, Apr 23, 2015
A year after hosting one of the most memorable football World Cups in history, and one year away from the Summer Olympics, Brazil will be the scene of the brand new Indigenous Peoples World Games.
The first edition of the games will take place Sept. 18-27 in the northern Tocantins state.
"It's a very important moment for Brazil," Brazil's Sports Minister, George Hilton, told Reuters. "It's a time of exchanging knowledge and it's a good time to promote the indigenous peoples through the games."
According to the minister, 4,000 athletes from 22 countries would compete, representing around 48 ethnicities.
Included in the competitions are unique sports such as rokra, a kind of lacrosse according to Reuters, which uses coconuts instead of a traditional ball. Xikinahity is similar to soccer, but using just the head.
"Now we have the U.N. declaration of the rights of indigenous peoples. This event will be a cultural interchange among the tribes and it's very important for all involved," Hilton said. "It's not only about the games but they are also going to be showing their culture through food, through their art and they are bringing their own interpreters so that one tribe can communicate with the other."
The United Nations estimates that there are 370 million indigenous people, accounting for at least five percent of the world's population.
The motto for September's games in Brazil is: "We are all Indigenous.
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