Indigenous Peoples and the Judiciary in Brazil: an appeal for a Legal Anthropology approach

Abstract

The lack of understanding between the Judiciary and Indigenous Peoples in Brazil stems in large part from the state’s refusal to recognize the sovereignty of the latter, while asserts its own sovereignty over them. There is little interest from judges and legal operators in knowing and recognizing the specific rights brought by indigenous alterity, recognized by the Federal Constitution of 1988. Academic interest in Indigenous Peoples in Law schools is still low and, in most cases when it occurs, is without the methodological tools of empirical research and the ethical concerns of anthropological fieldwork. I intend to analyze the difference between the typical approach of anthropologists and jurists on this subject, while defending the relevance and contribution of Legal Anthropology to all sides involved: Indigenous Peoples, Judiciary and Academia.