In Latin America countries, programs and public policies aimed at indigenous health have impacted on new roles and border spaces. By addressing indigenous participation in primary healthcare, we analyze the tensions and negotiations before and after the implementation of the Indigenous Healthcare Subsystem in Brazil, providing as an example the indigenous land Kaingáng (TIK) located in the south of the country. Prior to the implementation of the Subsystem, the definition and execution of the services in this TIK were characterized by the strong presence of indigenous people linked to the indigenous political leader and the weak presence of institutions. Since 2000, the subsystem started covering various public and private segments. In the TIK, the role of a Kaingáng organization was full of ambiguities and paradoxes, because while it was an opportunity for getting a greater role in the negotiation spaces created by the State, it was also subject to the priorities defined in outer spaces to the ethnic group