General definitions
Today,
talking about Indigenous peoples in Brazil means to recognize basically
that:
(1) in the lands colonized by the Portuguese, where later a country
called Brazil would exist, there were already human populations;
(2) it is not known exactly where they came from; we say that they
are original or native because they were here
before the European occupation;
(3) certain groups of people who live in present-day Brazil are historically
connected to these early peoples;
(4) the Indians who live in Brazil today have a long history, which
started to differentiate itself from the so-called Western Civilization
still during Pre-History (with the migratory waves from the Old
World to the Americas that took place thousands of years ago);
their history has come closer to ours only in
the past 500 years (with the arrival of the Portuguese);
(5) like any other human group, Indigenous peoples have cultures that
result from the history of the relationships among themselves and between
them and the environment; a history that, in their case, has been (and
continues to be) dramatically altered by the reality of colonization;
(6) the territorial division of South America into countries (Brazil,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina...) does not necessarily coincide with
the occupation of the geographic space by the Indigenous population;
often there are cases of peoples who live on two sides of international
borders, which were created long after they were established in the
region; that is why it makes more sense to speak of Indigenous peoples
in Brazil than of Brazil.
Generically, the Indigenous peoples that live not only in Brazil but
also in the entire American continent are called Indians. This name
is the result of a historical mistake made by the first Europeans who
arrived in America, who thought they had reached India. The continuous
use of the word, even by the Indians themselves, has made it a synonym
of an Indigenous person in Brazil.
Because of the similitude among Indians from North, Central and South
America, there are those who prefer to call all of them Amerindians.
Indians or Amerindians are thus the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
But what is it that makes of an Indian an Indian?
Criteria of identification
In the perspective of those who already lived in a given area, the
historical process of colonization and constitution of new nations was
extremely violent: extinction of entire peoples, demographic decimation,
land seizures, destruction of traditional means of physical and cultural
survival, disappearance of particular ethnic identities within the new
national societies in formation...
After such a long time, so much oppression and, in many cases, miscegenation,
there is a problem regarding Indigenous peoples: how is it possible
to identify clearly persons and groups of persons who are native to
these places and those who are not?
The answer to this fundamental question is not simple. It has to do
with recognition of special rights, the struggle for compensations for
historical injustices, and conflicts of interests regarding the possession
of certain areas or to the exploration of natural resources. It belongs,
in short, to the realm of politics: of each individual country and also
of international organisms such as the United Nations, the International
Labor Organization or the Organization of American States.
Documents from different times, countries and institutions show different
criteria for identifying who is Indigenous, based in concepts such as
race, cultural traits or economic development. In Brazil, the most accepted
criterion nowadays is that of ethnic self-identification. In other words:
it is considered Indigenous the members of a group of people who identify
themselves as a collectivity distinct from the national society as a
whole due to their historical links to pre-Columbian populations (i.e.,
populations that existed before Columbus first arrived in America, in
1492). Every individual who recognize herself/himself as part of a group
with those characteristics and is recognized by the group as such may
be considered an Indigenous person.
Around the world
In order to know more about Indigenous-related subjects on the international
level, ISA recommends access to the following sites:
- IWGIA (International
Work Group for Indigenous Affairs)
In English and Spanish, it disseminates information and its own publications
on the defense of the interests of Indigenous peoples around the world..
- Cultural Survival
In English. Information on its activities and publications on the
defense of Indigenous peoples from various regions.
- Abya
Yala Net Information in English about the Indigenous peoples
who live in Latin America. Links with sites from different parts of
the planet.
-
Página do Melatti (Melattis Page) In Portuguese. Part of
the studies, and a complete course about South American peoples, made
by the Brazilian anthropologist Julio Cezar Melatti, from the University
of Brasília.
-
Native Americans Starting point for the search of information
about North American Indigenous peoples. Many links.
- AIATSIS
(Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies)
In English. Information and links about Indigenous peoples in Australia.