Marcelo Moura Silva

Indigenous societies have advanced across the political terrain of States in an increasingly decisive way, impressing their practices in the quest for self-determination and the struggle to secure their rights. This research examines the political relationship between the Yanomami and the Brazilian State. Through ethnographic description, I investigate the tools used by indigenous people as part of a continual translation of practices and concepts within this context. My aim is to observe the transition between these two patterns of political activity ‘ that of States and that of Stateless societies ‘ setting out from an analysis of the indigenous political environment and tracing its transformations in the direction of politics with the State. Focusing mainly on Yanomami discursive practices, I seek to comprehend how they develop agency in this performative space and how they condition their words to speak effectively among whites and their institutions.