Since 1969, when the Paiter were “officially” contacted, their relations with non-Indians have produced profound changes in their society. These changes, however, have not extinguished their warrior spirit, which has motivated the struggle of these people for the recognition and integrity of their territory. In their recent history, this has been terribly threatened by the violence of the Polonoroeste program, the corruption and omission of government agencies, the invasion by unauthorized individuals, including lumbermen and miners. Struggling as they can against these adverse conditions, the Paiter seek to maintain the vitality of their cultural traditions, in which society is understood through a division into halves, in such a way that the social segments, productive activities and ritual life constitute expressions of dualism between the village and the forest, the garden and hunting, work and festival – with the exchange fests of offerings and the work parties associated with them being the high points of exchange and alternation between these halves.