Apiacá

The Apiacá, or Apiaká, are an indigenous people of Brazil, who live in northern Mato Grosso, near the border of Pará. They speak an Apiacá language that is a subgroup part of the Tupi-Guarani languages, though many today speak Portuguese. Prior to the 19th century, the Apiacá were a warlike tribe with a heavily agricultural culture. Around the mid-19th century, their numbers began to decline. This decrease coincided with the contact of European settlers in Brazil. Though thought to be extinct, their numbers, today, are increasing. In 2001, there were only 192 Apiaká. As of 2009, there are a thousand Apiaká people.