Daniela Fernandes Alarcon

Completed in August 2023, our project examined the political strategies developed by the community between 2018 and 2022 through a combination of archival sources and intensive fieldwork. In line with the Tupinambá’s broader efforts to document the history of their contemporary struggle from their own perspectives, our team—composed of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers—aimed to contribute to a deeper anthropological understanding of Indigenous forms of resistance and to counter far-right policies and discourses. Five key episodes of conflict were reconstructed in detail: the uncovering of a targeted plan to eliminate Indigenous leaders; an attempt to build a resort on Tupinambá land; setbacks in demarcation procedures; the mobilization of repressive forces against protective measures adopted in Serra do Padeiro during the Covid-19 pandemic; and the issuance of an eviction order against the Tupinambá. Among other findings, the analysis revealed the decisive importance of the material and organizational gains amassed by the Tupinambá of Serra do Padeiro over the past two decades—particularly territorial recovery, which expanded land ownership and economic resources, destabilizing asymmetrical power relations— combined with the community’s creativity and willingness to experiment with political strategies previously untested by the group.