The Tupinambá are believed to be first Indigenous population to have made contact with the Europeans on the Bahia coast. They are also consider to be one of the first to become extinct, though that was never the case. As of 2004, their population was about 3000 people.

The Tupinamba are among several different tribes that speak Tupian languages. Other tribes include the Tupiniquim, Potiguara, Tabajara, Caetés, Temiminó, Tamoios and Guaraní.

During the late 19th century, the government of Brazil stripped the Tupinamba of their indigenous rights, due to the limited views that various agencies had about who was or was not indigenous. Fortunately, the 1988 Constitution created an opening that presented the Tupinamba with a chance to restore what was taken from them.

13 years later, the Tupinambá were officially recognized as indigenous by FUNAI.