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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

645

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In 1979, when the military rule in Brazil was coming to an end, I dedicated some of my time to student political activity supporting the return of democracy. Several students used to show their political beliefs by posting banners on the windows of their cars. I had several in my car. One of them, probably the one that raised the most curiosity, read: "For the demarcation of indigenous lands." It was very charming, but none of us knew exactly its real meaning and implications. As far as I can remember, that was the first time I ever cared about Indians. This was a pretext to criticize the military, whose ideology, at the time, had no room for that kind of humanist view. Some years later, I started teaching my Constitutional Law course at the School of Law of the State University of Rio de Janeiro. I must admit that I do not recall having dedicated more than a few minutes to the Indian question, although there are several provisions and one whole chapter of Brazil's 1988 Constitution dedicated solely to "The Indians." These comments may sound personal or parochial, but indeed they are not. They demonstrate, quite clearly, that even in the academic world of law very little attention has been given to the Indians. Scholarly work is limited to specific issues and is scarce. This silence is eloquent and troubling. It shows the perennial difficulty of accepting what is different and appreciating these differences. It is the silence of indifference. And for those who know, indifference, not hate, is the opposite of love. This study is a contribution in an attempt to change this situation. It does not focus on an international or comparative perspective of the Indian question. It concentrates on some anthropological and legal aspects of indigenous peoples in Brazil, as well as in the policies of the national government and the general attitude of the national community concerning the issues involving the Indians, their rights, their culture, and, of course, their lands.

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