REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS IN BRAZIL BY: STEPHANIE BARJAS LINO
AUGUST 16 2017 • ISSUE 1 • VOLUME 2 • PAGE 1
HOW ARE INDIGENOUS MOVEMENTS REPRESENTED WITHIN SÃO PAULO?
The indigenous community in Brazil is a community that is very poorly represented not only in Brazil but in the United States as well. It is a subject of great importance but yet a sensitive subject that very little people decide to focus on and overtime has been thrown under the rug. Indigenous people are seen as trash, in the way of progress and lazy so, because of this they are not considered legal citizens like the rest of the population. Not only are they not considered citizens but their legal rights as citizens are taken away from them making it more difficult to fight for their land and rights to health care, education, housing and employment. This has been a problematic issue that continues as years go by but never progresses. While visiting São Paulo Brazil, I decided to do research on whether or not the indigenous community is represented in the area, and if so, how. I was able to come in contact with one person that provided me with information on the indigenous population in São Paulo but I was surprised to find out that not many could. This really got me thinking on how problematic this already was. Why is it a subject that is not talked about by many? Are there any indigenous groups that still reside in São Paulo? If not, why? And if yes, do the residents of São Paulo choose not to talk about it?
Not only do the residents of São Paulo play a huge role on whether or not the indigenous community is represented but the government also plays an even bigger one. Sadly, the government is doing the total opposite. Instead of fighting along with the different indigenous communities in support of gaining back their rights, they are fighting against them. Not only is it wrong of the government but it also makes it harder for the indigenous movements to progress in any way because the government holds the most power. Not only is the indigenous community being well represented as they should be, but they are victims of violent acts against them without any reasoning. Many are “disappearing” yet are being murdered by the farmer, and no one is doing anything about it. When an indigenous person is put into the criminal system sometimes over something as small as a ticket, it is tough for them to be realized because one, they do not have any legal rights as a citizen and two, no type of finances to pay for their bail. In the end, it is all a cycle that keeps on repeating itself with no progression whatsoever. Over time the different indigenous population numbers are decreasing, and those that remain are limited to small pieces of their land, little to no rights to health care, education, and employment. Many elements of their tradition, rituals languages and myths are lost. Without any type of correct representation that they deserve, they will just slowly start to disappear.
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MINI-ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS OF MEDIA MAKING PROCESS
Being able to use pictures, video, and audio to represent indigenous movements gave me a different type of outlook into my subject. The media is a tool that is used by many when trying to reach out to a larger audience on a particular topic to either make others aware of what is going on or gain some support. Media can sometimes be of great help but it also sometimes shines a negative light on stories such as indigenous movements providing a negative message to the outside audience. I want to be able to use media as an active tool for indigenous movements to gain support from outside audiences but also educate these audiences on this movement and hopefully, change the mindset that they have from the negative stories that media sometimes portrays.
Interview: Prof. Oswaldo
Oliveira Santos Universidade Metodista de São Paulo
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REFLECTION Like stated in my main article, spending a short amount of time in São Paulo made it harder for me to be able to better research and talk to people about the indigenous population and their representation in the area. Although I was about to gather still some information on the subject I wish I could have gone more in depth with the information that I had already gathered. I was not sure whether or not it was because I didn’t spend enough time in São Paulo or if it was because there were not many people in the area that had any knowledge on my topic. Regardless, I do believe that spending more time in Sao Paulo could have given me the opportunity to visit indigenous centers and talk to other people that could provide me with more information.
Along with not spending much time in Sao Paulo, a lot of the work that touched on indigenous movements and their representation was going to be held while in Campo Grande and since the project was due before arriving at Campo Grande, I could not add on to the little information that I already had from Sao Paulo. This made the work a frustrating and harder because I learned so much more information while in Campo Grande than I did in Sao Paulo and there was not anything that I could do about it but use that information for my next magazine.
Although I was able to gain a right amount of information for my magazine from people that somewhat had some knowledge on the subject, I wish I could have talked to actual indigenous people beforehand because therefore, I could have gained a way better understanding of indigenous movements. Being able to talk to someone that is not indigenous and someone who is makes a huge difference because you get to hear personal experiences and thoughts from indigenous people something that you wouldn’t necessarily get from someone who does not come from an indigenous background.