First World Indigenous Games began in Brazil

First World Indigenous Games started in Brazil on 23 October 2015 in the northern Brazilian city of Palmas. The game will end on 31 October 2015.

The games are a multi-sport event involving indigenous athletes has around 2000 athletes participating from many indigenous ethnic groups and 30 countries like Ethiopia, Mongolia, Brazil, Australia, Russia, the Philippines, Ethiopia and New Zealand.

The participants on 22 October 2015 took part in a traditional fire lighting ceremony in Palmas's central square and danced at the ceremony in traditional outfits.

Sports included in the games are archery, spear tossing, canoeing and a race through the forest.
Besides, there will be non-competitive events showcasing the many different traditions of indigenous ethnic groups involved, such as a football-style game called xikunahity in which the ball is controlled only with the head. It is played in the Matto Gross region of Brazil.

World Indigenous Games
The first World Indigenous Games are a project conceived by Marcos Terena’s Intertribal Council (ITC), and grew from the national Jogos dos Povos Indígenas that began in 1999.  It is a joint effort by the ITC, the Brazilian Ministry of Sport, and the Municipality of Palmas.

Led by the ideal that “In 2015, we are all indigenous” (Em 2015, somos todos indígenas), Palmas, the capital of Tocantins state, will host the games that will be participated by indigenous peoples from every corner of the earth.

The municipal government has created the Extraordinary Secretariat for the Indigenous Games to oversee the organisation of the Games.

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