The importance of the canoe in the lives of indigenous peoples of Brazil

This article examines the construction and use of canoes among Indigenous peoples of Brazil as a form of technical, environmental, and mathematical knowledge grounded in long-term empirical experience. The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2010 and 2025 with communities of the Apiaká, Arara, Bororo, Guarani, Juruna, Kaiowá, Kayabi, Mura, Pankararu, Sateré-Mawé, Tapayuna, Tenharim, and Xavante peoples. Through direct observation, interviews, and documentation of canoe-building practices, the research explores how measurements, proportions, material selection, and spatial reasoning are developed and transmitted outside formal schooling. Drawing on perspectives from ethnomathematics and the indiciary paradigm, the article highlights the role of practical experience, environmental knowledge, and collective memory in shaping these techniques. Canoes are thus approached not only as transportation devices, but as material expressions of Indigenous epistemologies that integrate technical efficiency, cultural meaning, and adaptation to specific riverine landscapes.