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Brazil pres. to open 1st indigenous Olympics

Xerente women celebrate a goal against the Pataxo Brazilian tribe team in a soccer match during the World Indigenous Games, in Palmas, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. The World Indigenous Games officially opens Friday, when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is expected to attend a lavish opening ceremony in the games' host city, Palmas, a remote outpost in the sunbaked heart of Brazil. Billed as the first "indigenous Olympics", the games are expected to attract nearly 2,000 athletes from dozens of Brazilian native tribes, as well as from such far-flung nations as Ethiopia and New Zealand. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) Xerente women celebrate a goal against the Pataxo Brazilian tribe team in a soccer match during the World Indigenous Games, in Palmas, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. The World Indigenous Games officially opens Friday, when Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is expected to attend a lavish opening ceremony in the games' host city, Palmas, a remote outpost in the sunbaked heart of Brazil. Billed as the first "indigenous Olympics", the games are expected to attract nearly 2,000 athletes from dozens of Brazilian native tribes, as well as from such far-flung nations as Ethiopia and New Zealand. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

By Associated Press October 23, 2015 1 min read

PALMAS, Brazil (AP) – The first World Indigenous Games is getting its official start with an extravagant opening ceremony presided over by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

The games are bringing some 2,000 athletes from indigenous groups from the four corners of the world to Palmas, an agricultural outpost in a remote part of central Brazil.

The nine-day event includes such events as canoeing, archery and tug-of-war, among other traditional sports.

Hundreds of indigenous people from across Brazil and delegations from as far afield as Mongolia and the Philippines have already arrived in Palmas.

Rousseff is expected to touch down in the city ahead of the Friday evening ceremony.

The World Indigenous Games runs through Nov. 1.