O desafio de recontar a lei : direitos humanos e povos indígenas no Brasil

Abstract

Considering the ethnic and cultural particularities of indigenous peoples in Brazil, as well as their historically conflictive relationship with the national State, this research sought to investigate the viability of human rights as a useful tool for asserting their interests, needs and world projects. In a first step, we delimited the contours of the current model of State and law, outlining its predominant paradigm and, consequently, its limitations and obstacles to indigenous philosophies. The human rights discourse, in turn, was presented from its origin and also in its contemporary fragilities. Then, by means of a counter-anthropological investigation, the indigenous alterity and the importance of opening the political space to it were addressed, based on the potential of indigenous philosophies to solve unanswered questions and crises. Finally, the invisibility of indigenous peoples before the national State was identified, and also the power of human rights to break with it, in order to open up space for them in the political arena. Based on the ius constitutionale commune theoretical framework, we investigated ways to expand the protection of human rights in the country, considering the particularities of Latin America and the current course of Brazilian indigenous policy. Based on guidelines and standards of protection signed on a regional level, mechanisms for strengthening the right to participation of indigenous peoples were demonstrated as a way to overcome the internal limitations of the State and Brazilian law. At the end of the research, we concluded that the human rights discourse holds power and can aid indigenous peoples in their struggles for dignity. To conduct the research, the method employed was dialectical, with the use of bibliographic and documental research techniques.