Neocolonialism and Indigenous Territorial Rights in Brazil: A Study of Land Regularization for Indigenous Peoples in Piauí
neocolonialism; territorialization; indigenist law; land regularization; reclaiming indigenous identity; INTERPI.
In opposition to the rhetoric of extermination of indigenous peoples in Piauí, this thesis engages with the field of State anthropology to specifically examine processes of indigenous territorialization. The state recognition of indigenous territories, by physically delimiting them and establishing management frameworks, redefines concepts such as ethnicity, possession, and territory, creating new ethnic boundaries and power relations. This process reorganizes indigenous identity and territoriality, imposing administrative, legal, and political challenges that shape their conditions of collective existence. It represents an expression of neocolonialism, which historically uses these demarcations to renegotiate relations of subordination.The research, interdisciplinary in nature, relied on document ethnography and participant observation to analyze how INTERPI, in practice, translates indigenous territorial rights as provided by the Constitution. The qualitative study sought to highlight how these processes not only produce subjects but also create territories, confronting narratives through documents, administrative processes, and observations. Field data indicate that the neoliberal multiculturalist policies promoted by international organizations and implemented by the State—under the banner of ethnic and cultural recognition— mask structural inequalities and renew relations of domination. The emergence of new indigenist actors, such as INTERPI, reveals a territorialization that challenges constitutional provisions and exposes contradictions in the traditional model of indigenous territorial recognition. The land regularization promoted by INTERPI favors private interests, weakens collective rights, and fragments the historical projects of indigenous peoples, turning the right to self-determination into a legal fiction. In response, indigenous peoples in Piauí strengthen their identities and create networks of solidarity, offering perspectives for rethinking policies and legal frameworks in contexts of marginalization