Tiago Karaí and Laudiceia Benites helped reclaim Guarani land. They died with their children in an accident last month.

On August 14th, seven members of the Tekoa Kalipety Indigenous community were journeying between Guarani communities with seeds. The group comprised Tiago Honório dos Santos, also known as Tiago Karaí, and his wife Kerexu Laudiceia Benites, alongside their children Tadeu and Luna, as well as Karaí's sister Kerexu Cleonice Honório dos Santos, and two other community members, Ileo Benites and Genilson Euzébio Karay Mirim.

The travelers had spent the week visiting relatives, praying at Porto Lindo, and sharing seeds harvested in southern São Paulo. They were en route to another Indigenous territory when, that evening, a semitrailer hauling maize lost its grip from a truck and collided with their car.

Tiago Karaí, aged 34, perished alongside his wife, Kerexu Laudiceia Benites, 31, their children Tadeu, 14, and Luna, 7, Karaí's sister Kerexu Cleonice Honório dos Santos, and the two additional individuals, Ileo Benites and Genilson Euzébio Karay Mirim, from the Kalipety community. The truck driver fled the scene of the accident.

Tiago was born in a Guarani village close to the São Paulo state coast. His parents relocated to the Tenondé Porã Indigenous Territory before he turned two. At the Guarani Gwyra Pepó school, Tiago expressed frustration over the limited instruction on Guarani customs and life. After graduating secondary school at 19, he returned to the school as a teacher, teaching Guarani language and culture to primary school students.

He advocated for the importance of preserving their own language alongside non-Indigenous traditions. In 2013, Guarani families commenced reclaiming ancestral parts of Tenondé Porã, settling on the land.