Indigenous rights in Brazil: a philosophical reconstitution

Abstract

This article proposes a survey of the contact between European thought and the Amerindian peoples, with an emphasis on the genealogy of the philosophical concepts that came to base the theological positions and the legal norms responsible for regulating, at least in theory, the historical practices to the dynamics of  invasion and conquest of these lowlands of South America. Because, we understand that in this trail we will find the foundations of the dialectic between indigenous rights and the regulations by the national State, from which the tensions related to the claims of the Amerindian peoples for the right to protection and exclusive use of their original territories. We begin, then, this path, with the inaugural moment of the modern discussion about the agenda of human rights based on the recognition or not of the humanity of indigenous peoples in the 16th century – present in the formulation of the right of the people by Friar Francisco de Vitória; passing through the important episode known as Controversy of Valladolid, between Sepúlveda and Las Casas; traversing the entire colonial period, empire, first and second republics, always with special attention to the philosophical concepts that supported the practices of exploitation, usurpation, protection and control throughout this journey; until we reach the ideals of autonomy and self-determination as present in the 1988 Constitution. Endig with the discussion about the current challenges for its maintenance and improvement.