Quoting Mario Juruna: Linguistic imagery and the transformation of indigenous voice in the Brazilian print press

Abstract

In this article, I reveal the textual mechanisms that influential news editors employed to manipulate popular understandings of Mario Juruna, a Xavante leader who played an important role in advancing democracy during Brazil's military dictatorship and became the first Indian elected to national office. I argue that editors used the implicit messages of represented language to initiate shifts in the public's perception of the Xavante leader and thereby to change its opinion of him. Juruna's case illustrates that linguistic resources are powerful tools that hegemonic institutions, such as the press, and other dominant parties may employ to advance their own interests and influence public opinion on matters of political and social import. © 2011 by the American Anthropological Association.