In 1824 the first Lutheran families arrived in Brazil. Most of them consisted of poor people who had no opportunities and no space in Germany. They were attracted by the promise that in Brazil they would have land in abundance and freedom. Nobody told them that indigenous people lived on that land. Furthermore, the concept and practice of land use were completely different. For the indigenous people, the land, the rivers and the forest were to be used collectively for the purpose of subsistence. For Europeans, the land was a private property with clearly demarcated limits and a deed drawn up at the registry office. The situation became even more serious due to the fact that Europeans thought they were superior and did not acknowledge the Indians as full human beings.
This reality created two kinds of victims: one of them were the immigrants, who were induced to play a role that they often were not able to assess. The other victim were the indigenous people, who began to lose their land and their lives by dint of firearms.
In the midst of this situation, however, there were always persons and groups who tried to be fair to the Indians and sided with them. Various and valuable initiatives were taken in the course of time.
In 1982 the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil created a Council to study and coordinate its work with indigenous peoples in the whole country.
This is how the Council for Mission among Indians (COMIN) came into being. Since then, it tries to fulfill its task in various ways.
