Sonia Guajajara
Sonia Guajajara was appointed minister of state for Indigenous peoples in 2023, the first Indigenous woman to be appointed minister of state, of the first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil. She was born in the Araribóia Indigenous Land, of the Guajajara and Tentehar People, in the state of Maranhão. An activist and defender of Indigenous and socio-environmental rights, she ran for vice-president of Brazil in 2018. In 2022, she became the first Indigenous federal deputy for the state of São Paulo. She has participated in several United Nations bodies, including the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and world climate and biodiversity conferences.
