Indigenous peoples in Brazil (Portuguese: povos indigenas no Brasil), or Indigenous Brazilians (Portuguese: indigenas brasileiros), comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who have inhabited what is now the country of Brazil since prior to the European contact around 1500. Unlike Christopher Columbus, who thought he had reached the East Indies, the Portuguese, most notably Vasco da Gama, had already reached India via the Indian Ocean route when they reached Brazil.
After Rondon's pioneering work, the SPI was turned over to bureaucrats and military officers and its work declined after 1957. The new officials did not share Rondon's deep commitment to the Indians. SPI sought to address tribal issues by transforming the tribes into mainstream Brazilian society. The lure of reservation riches enticed cattle ranchers and settlers to continue their assault on Indians lands - and the SPI eased the way. Between 1900 and 1967, an estimated 98 indigenous tribes were wiped out. Mostly due to the efforts of the Villas-Boas brothers, Brazil's first Indian reserve, the Xingu National Park, was established by the Federal Government in 1961. During the social and political upheaval in the 1960s, reports of mistreatment of Indians increasingly reached Brazil's urban centers and began to affect Brazilian thinking. In 1967, following the publication of the Figueiredo Report, commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior, the military government launched an investigation into SPI. It soon came to light that the SPI was corrupt and failing to protect natives, their lands, and, culture. The 5,000-page report catalogued atrocities including slavery, sexual abuse, torture, and mass murder. It has been charged that agency officials, in collaboration with land speculators, were systematically slaughtering the Indians by intentionally circulating disease-laced clothes. Criminal prosecutions followed, and the SPI was disbanded. The same year the government established Fundacao Nacional do Indio (National Indian Foundation), known as FUNAI which is responsible for protecting the interests, cultures, and rights of the Brazilian indigenous populations. Some tribes have become significantly integrated into Brazilian society. The unacculturated tribes which have been contacted by FUNAI, are supposed to be protected and accommodated within Brazilian society in varying degrees. By 1987 it was recognized that unessential contact with the tribes was causing illness and social disintegration. The uncontacted tribes are now supposed to be protected from intrusion and interference in their life style and territory. However, the exploitation of rubber and other Amazonic natural resources has led to a new cycle of invasion, expulsion, massacres and death, which continues to this day.

Q: What is FUNAI?
A: The same year the government established Fundacao Nacional do Indio (National Indian Foundation), known as FUNAI

Q: What is the purpose of FUNAI?
A: which is responsible for protecting the interests, cultures, and rights of the Brazilian indigenous populations.
Are they involved in the government?
The same year the government established Fundacao Nacional do Indio (National Indian Foundation), known as FUNAI which is responsible for protecting the interests, The same year the government established Fundacao Nacional do Indio the Xingu National Park, was established by the Federal Government in 1961.
the Xingu National Park, was established by the Federal Government in 1961.