Xucuru

The Xucuru are an indigenous people with a population of approximately 8,500, living in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. They have recently gained governmental recognition of their rights to their indigenous homeland in the Ororubo Mountains, though this has brought them into conflict with the local settler population of the region. In 1998, a Xucuru leader, Chicão (Francisco de Assis Araújo), was assassinated, apparently because of his opposition to the encroachment of ranchers in Xucuru territory.