Entre Retomadas e Autodemarcações: lutas indígenas por recursos naturais, territórios e direitos no Brasil

In Brazil, Indigenous peoples have occupied lands (an act they call "retomadas") and/or have demarcated by themselves their traditional territories ("autodemarcações"). Those practices date back to the 1980s and have intensified in a scenario of backlash against Indigenous rights. Besides, many rights violations carried out by the Brazilian State has endangered Indigenous ways of existence and threaten the protection of their territories. Thus, this research aimed to investigate how those practices, which are considered as political strategies of the struggle for rights, can be interpreted in the face of the state law. To do so, we did a documentary and empirical research. We did participant observation in an Indigenous community of the Tapeba Indigenous People, conducted interviews with Indigenous leaders from the Tapeba Indigenous People, as well as we analyzed documents published by Indigenous peoples who have carried out one or both of those practices, especially the Indigenous Peoples Tapeba (from Ceará) and Munduruku (from Pará). The results indicate that "retomadas" and "auto-demarcações" are legal-political strategies and ways to struggle for rights, and can be recognized by law, starting from the insurgent, critical and intercultural perspectives of the Law. In fact, the theme encompasses even more complex issues. It involves debates on the autonomy and self-determination of these peoples vis-à-vis the national states. Also, it comprises the legal-political reflection on who determines the right to the territory of Indigenous Peoples, and how Indigenous territorial rights should be recognized and enforced.