Colonial religiosity denied the diversity of worldviews and rituals among Indigenous peoples, who operate from a deep connection with nature and respect for ancestral spirits. After the dominance of ancestral territories, churches were often built on Indigenous villages or palisades of resistance, as was the case with the Church of Glória.

The "Canoe War" is described as a conflict between the French and the Portuguese, during which Saint Sebastian is said to have appeared, leaping from canoe to canoe to encourage the Portuguese Christians. He became the patron saint of the city, often depicted with arrows in his body and tied to a post, drawing an analogy to Estácio de Sá, who was killed by a poisoned arrow shot by Aymberê, a Tupinambá.

Since Brazil’s Independence, the prevailing perspective was that for a nation-state to exist, it was first necessary to establish territorial unity, ensure a common language—Portuguese—and thus establish a shared culture. It was believed that the Indigenous peoples, considered “savages,” had to be civilized according to European standards. The Palace of Catete, the former headquarters of the Presidency, was the site of major political decisions made by governments to support these ideas.

Guanabara, which in Tupi means "breast of the sea" or "breast where the seawater springs," was a vast area that generated and sustained many forms of life, from humans to local fauna and flora. The sea stretched widely, meeting the hills and slopes of the Atlantic Forest. Before the processes of flooding and land reclamation, there were at least 127 islands in Guanabara Bay. This location had an enchanted aura, reflected in the Tupinambá mythology, where the gûaîupîa, or guajupiá, was an idyllic paradise, covered with flowers and bathed by a magnificent river, with lush land and trees on its banks.

In the Tupinambá territory of Guanabara, there were at least 84 tabas (villages, in Tupi), each with distinct names. Each taba had 7 to 8 malocas (communal houses), housing about 500 to 600 people. Paranapuã Island (now Governor's Island) was inhabited by the Temiminós, who, despite sharing some cultural similarities with the Tupinambás, were their rivals. The Temiminós allied with the Portuguese after being displaced from their lands by the Tupinambás with French support. However, until that time, the rivalry between Indigenous groups did not involve the extermination of adversaries, unlike European colonial practices.

In the 16th century, a French writer reported the existence of a Tupinambá village called Karióka at one of the river's mouths, which became the main source of water supply for the city. Named the Carioca River, it was essential to our survival. Its water source is in the Tijuca Forest, but today most of it is buried.