Indigenous people in urban context and historical memory: Paths for psychology indigenous people in urban context and psychology

Abstract

This article summarizes the results of a doctoral thesis based on the psychosocial perspective and was justified by the indigenous presence in the city and the lack of public policies that respond to the real demands of the population. It aimed to investigate who the indigenous people are in an urban context and how historical memory is present in the construction of their identity, identifying them as a tool of resistance to colonization. Based on the Participation-Action-Research, the sources of information were field diaries and interviews with three indigenous representatives from two organized groups. From the Constructive-Interpretive Analysis, it can be concluded that the historical memory is configured as a tool in which it expands the identity dimension, making it possible to recognize oneself as an indigenous person from the historical records of memory, favoring the strengthening and resistance in the face of violence experienced in everyday life. In addition, the importance of collective spaces for strengthening the subject was evident.

Keywords

Historical memory indigenous people in an urban context psychology and indigenous peoples resistance subject’s perspective

There are many questions that arise in the face of the theme about the reality of the indigenous population, since, for a long time, this population was silenced and made invisible as part of the colonization process (Ferraz & Domingues, 2016; Vitale & Grubits, 2009;Vitale & Grubits, 2009, 2009; Batista & Zanello, 2016). The struggle for access and rights to Brazilian lands is a historical result of colonization and its long exploitation. As harmful consequences of this secular system, native populations were physically, and culturally devastated and large private properties ended up in the hands of a few. This historical condition, which is still present today, leads cities to take over villages, expelling indigenous people from their lands, composing a mass of workers in extremely precarious conditions, whether in small or large cities (Silva, 2018; Oliveira & Freire, 2006). Given the brief context presented, this work aimed to investigate the presence of historical memory in the daily life of the indigenous population in an urban context. As specific objectives: to identify different dimensions of being indigenous in an urban context and to establish the possible links that involve being indigenous in the city and Historical Memory as a resistance movement.

The displacement of the indigenous population to the city, as well as the cities invading their lands, involves several social, economic, cultural, and psychological impacts. The disconnection with origins, readaptation of their traditions, the silencing of indigenous identity, the precariousness of work or the search for a better quality of life, the search for specific rights for their community are examples of challenges faced in the daily lives of these people.

The urbanization of Latin American societies has affected the indigenous population in their communities, as well as in their daily lives in the last 20 years. The Indigenous Foundation (2007) states that in many countries most indigenous populations live in an urban context, and this data should be the basis for understanding the emergence of new indigenous identities. In the city, the indigenous person becomes invisible in the eyes of society and the State. The city becomes a place where racism against indigenous people is evident, identifying them as backward, unreliable, unpleasant, among other stereotypes (Rangel et al., 2013). Krenak (2019) points out that this rapid displacement of our place of origin around the world is a consequence of new technologies, which can both bring benefits, but can also bring damage and loss of meaning of our displacements and of existence itself.

Thinking about how psychology can and should work, starting from a concrete reality and in an ethical-political way, Martín-Baró (2006), a Latin American psychologist, presents a possible path, when he delves into the category of historical memory. According to the author, historical memory represents one of the three fundamental tasks of Liberation Psychology, accompanied by the de-ideologization of common sense and strengthening. Psychosocial intervention begins in historical memory and has as its perspective the social and affective recovery of subjects and communities that have been and are historically violated. This category is essential for the subject to discover about his/her nature, his/her roots, and the place he/she can reach. And also discover the possibility of transforming aspects of his/her own life, with his/her active role in human relationships, offering greater autonomy for the future (Martín-Baró, 1998a). For Krenak (2019), if subjects do not have a connection with their ancestral memory, which forms the basis for their identity, they can get sick in this world.

Many of the reasons for the indigenous migration process were forced and others were voluntary, from fleeing invasions made on their land, working in the cities, studying, health, the search for better living conditions to armed conflicts. The intense migratory flow in recent decades has often forced rural indigenous people to seek satisfying their demands in the city. According to the Indigenous Foundation (2007), Latin America was not prepared for this, in terms of accommodation, employment and especially health and intercultural education. Consequently, indigenous people who had to, for some historical reason, resort to urban centers represent contributors of unskilled labor and child labor. The need to integrate in the city, as well as its customs and everyday habits, makes the indigenous people must absorb this culture, causing many of the reinterpretations made by the city to see them as no longer belonging to their ethnicity (Indigenous Foundation, 2007).

Thus, for thinking about the construction of these public policies, it is necessary to involve both contexts: the land of origin and the city, since this population lives in different realities in relation to the people in the community, so the demands may be different (Peruzzo and Ozi, 2020). In addition, we must consider the pandemic situation due to Covid-19 in the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, as it had a great impact on the lives of all of us, but especially on the daily life of the original populations, in relation to the social dimension, cultural, economic, and mental health.

Starting from critical psychology point of view, it is necessary to understand the category of the subject’s daily life, because it is in this dimension where life, the common, the mundane, social coexistence take place. It involves the routines and dynamics of life, such as actions that may seem insignificant like talking, eating, working, shopping. But it is in them that our relationships are produced and reproduced, the social environments created, helping psychology to understand the relationship between the subject’s actions and power structures, from the subject’s perspective (Holzkamp, 2016a; 2016b).

Although hegemonic psychology has brought contributions to society, regarding traditional peoples, it has subjugated their ways of developing and seeing the world. It is impossible to generalize a single psychology, since there is a diversity of cosmovision and traditions that need to be considered, if we want to produce a science that responds to the demands of increasingly diverse societies. In a path opposite to that of hegemonic social psychologies, some psychologists have challenged classical models, strengthening different indigenous perspectives and psychologies (Hodgetts et al., 2020; King, 2019).

The practice of critical psychology must be based on two foundations. First, a theoretical-methodological review of classical psychologies, considering the diversity of each culture that guides the state of its well-being. Second, attention to the indigenous subject based on contact with him and the ancestors, seeking these answers through dialogue, relationships, and availability. In research, psychology can contribute to indigenous peoples by mediating dialogues, its role as a political ally, an interpreter or diplomatic representative, favoring spaces for coexistence between indigenous and non-indigenous subjects in organized groups, indigenous communities, or institutions (Guimarães, 2010; Kopenawa & Albert, 2019). The psychologist Māori King (2019) states that, for the decolonization process to occur, it is necessary to seek ways to recover knowledge, knowing, doing and being.

Method

The work is based on qualitative research and participatory-action research, guided by the construction of knowledge and popular power, in which both the researcher and the communities play a fundamental role (Cueller, 2015). Fals Borda (2014) considers the method as a way that transforms the relationship between researcher and participant, producing knowledge from the dialogue with those who build the reality. This process of knowledge is a function of action, just as action originates from knowledge.

This work arises from the immersion of the researcher/psychologist for 4 years in two organized groups that involve different Brazilian indigenous ethnicities. It is important to emphasize that the insertion the researcher in the indigenous groups preceded the present research. In other words, this academic text contains elements that originated through practical coexistence with indigenous groups.

Organized Group 1—It is a cultural point made up of indigenous and non-indigenous people in an urban context. Its objective is to give visibility to cultural diversity. The group is linked to the indigenous populations that inhabit the cities around São Paulo-SP, with actions aimed at cultural and educational institutions, especially public schools. The social practices of the Organized Group 1 involve different fronts united by indigenous and non-indigenous people, such as: traditional cuisine, identification of medicinal plants in public parks, conversation circles on different topics, production and sale of handicrafts, body painting, meetings for the construction of actions, group visits to different indigenous villages for traditional events (indigenous games, baptism, new year, conversation circle, storytelling, pipe, construction of the prayer house).

Organized Group 2—This emerged from the collaborative work with an indigenous couple who practices natural and traditional medicine in the city of São Paulo. Trained in natural therapy, they provide care based on naturology and the Tupi Tradition (Brazilian indigenous ethnicity), in addition to performing pajelança¹ and benzimento.² Among the Group’s practices are natural and traditional therapies, also other professionals like psychology, and capoeira³ and other people who are not indigenous, contributing to the Group’s movement in the São Paulo region. The organized group develops some social practices such as: studies on medicinal plants, meditation, natural gynecology, health and nutrition, individual consultations, in addition to practices, bringing the indigenous roots closer. This movement represents the attempt to decolonize hegemonic thought and science.

This research was conducted through to different conditions: before the pandemic period, the researcher participation was presential in the activities of two groups described with the participation in the activities of the two groups described above. Through this moment the field diary was written by the research. After the pandemic the contact with indigenous and research was only made by virtual mode. In each condition the information was obtained by different was: field diaries and interviews, respectively.

Source of information

For this research two sources of information were used: one-Field Diaries, which consist in recording of observations, reflections, thoughts, feelings and interactions produced after some participation of the psychologist/researcher in both groups. Two- Individual interviews with three indigenous coordinators of the organized groups. One interview was conducted with the coordinator of Organized Group 1; and the other two interviews were with the coordinating couple of the Organized Group 2.

This study complies with the ethical principles guided by the National Health Council, according to Resolution No. 510/2016, and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas).

Participants

The participant of this studies were those that were present in the activities of the two groups before the pandemic period and its coordinators. Two participants were highlighted from the groups (participants Moon and Sun). Three indigenous in an urban context, coordinators of the two organized groups (participants one, two and three).

Instruments

The field diaries written after the participation of researcher was a free registration after the activities developed by the group. For the interviews it was built a script with the objective of organizing into five dimensions: one-Sociodemographic; two-Relationship with the city; three-Daily life and Identity; four-Difficulties and problems faced and five-Belonging. Each dimension represented guiding points of the interview and not direct questions, so that the participant had more space and could develop their speech freely.

Procedures

The field diaries were written by the psychologist/researcher after the participation in the organized groups, describing the practices that took place and reflections. In total, five field diaries were written before the pandemic period.

The interviews were carried out individually by the Zoom platform, due to the consequent isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. Each interview lasted, on average, 1 hour. The audios were recorded, with the permission of the participants, and then transcribed.

Results

The results of the study were based on the Constructive-Interpretive analysis of González-Rey (2015; 2005; 2000; 1997). From this perspective, research is understood as a part of continuous process that does not end, in the same way that its results do not end. Following the teachings of Moraes (1999), the results were organized in some stages along the process, such as: preparation of information (organization of information sources in systematized tables); transformation of content into units of meaning; recognition of indicators (key words) that represent a topic to be developed; construction of categories from the indicators and syntheses that establish links between the information found in each category constructed. Thus, the results presented below follow the order of the information sources (Field diaries and interviews).

Field diaries

There were some referrals to the two groups through the large indigenous network in the state of São Paulo. Some indigenous people sought contact, needing help. After these social practices, field diaries were written. Through these field diaries it was possible to highlight two life stories. Each one has, comparatively, proximities and differences, all very important from a psychological point of view so that, in this way, one could understand the suffering and vulnerabilities inherent in the narratives. These two stories narrate about the violence experienced due to their indigenous identities in urban daily life was named Sun and Moon. The objective was not to compare them, but to bring a reflection on the psychological aspects that involved the suffering and the strengthening of each one.

It´s possible to identify elements in the life history of each one, whether those elements that strengthen them, or those that made them hide their indigenous identities, as a resource to protect themselves from the violent city. The stories of the two participants are presented, in a summarized way.

Moon participant

Resident in a city in the Metropolitan Region of the interior of São Paulo. Many years ago, the participant came from another state in the federation in search of better care for her daughter with a disability. She left her community at a young age. She lived in many cities in Brazil throughout her life. She prostituted herself for a while, used drugs, lived on the street. Today, she has become religious, raises her daughter, and built her house. Her name was changed in her General Identification Registry, so that she would be better accepted in the city, as she said she suffered a lot of prejudice for being indigenous. She misses her indigenous origins; she would like to return to her village. But, returning would be impossible because of her daughter and because the village does not have the same public services that she enjoys in the city. The interviewee said that in her neighborhood, at the school where her daughter studies, and at the health and social assistance center, no one knows about her real identity. She and her daughter live together in the same house where the woman’s partner lives. But, according to the interviewee’s report, it seems to be an abusive relationship and, therefore, the indigenous woman was put in contact with the coordinator of the Women’s Reference and Support Center (CEAMO).

Sun participant

It is an indigenous man who is part of one of the organized groups, has his individual project of struggle and resistance about his origins. He was taken from his village when he was very young. Throughout his life, he managed to discover his territory and family. He currently lives in the state of São Paulo, works, is married to a woman who is not indigenous. He said that he went through difficulties in life for being an indigenous people, mainly he suffered a lot of prejudice. When he started dating his wife, her family didn’t accept him, because they said he wouldn’t be good, because he was an indigenous people. Because of this, he had to prove his worth several times. However, today, he is accepted by his wife’s family. In addition, he reported having difficulties regarding his identity, for example, to be accepted at the health center, to obtain a work card and to get a job. He reported that he never gave up and always faced difficulties, no matter how difficult they were. Today, in addition to being married, he works and participates in an indigenous social movement in Brazil, fighting for indigenous visibility in an urban context. The participant reported that a family member taught him, since he was a child, to be strong and always talked about the history of their people during the campfire circles at night. It was a sacred moment for the family to be able to listen to their ancestors talking about their stories and life teachings.

A table was constructed which some categories are identified by the researcher/psychologist. These categories were created by the reading of the field diaries, identifying the units of meaning that were repeated, according to an idea of pattern, which was presented during the research. (Table 1)

Table 1.

Categories found in the field diaries.

Categories	Sun participant	Moon participant
Historical memory	Recover elements of his life story	Hide her identity to protect herself
Identity-related difficulties	Recognizes the difficulties experienced in his daily live	Recognizes the difficulties experienced in her daily lives
Participation in collective spaces	Participates in social movements	She does not participate in social movements
Indigenous resistance	Participates in speech spaces as an indigenous person, lives his traditions in his daily live (body painting and crafts)	She has no contact with other indigenous people (apart from the family), she hides his identity, but maintains some traditions (teas and handicrafts)
Support network	Collectives, social movements of indigenous and non-indigenous people, his family of origin and that of his wife	Only the family member of her indigenous community and the social assistance of her reference
Maintenance of traditions	Body painting and crafts	Drinks tea and makes rugs
Present moment	He recognizes his pain, but is strengthened to face the challenges, participating in the indigenous movement, and visiting his family of origin	Great vulnerability—carries a lot of suffering, cries a lot, isolates herself more and more and has no will to live

The categories presented appear of synthesizing the information reflected in the field diaries, starting from the proposed objective of the study. The two life stories show how the recovery of historical memory, the participation of collective spaces, plus support networks, represent aspects of resistance and strengthening of indigenous subjects. Crucial points are highlighted that contributed to an identity affirmation of one of the participants, in the face of so many difficulties, with its opposite, presenting great fragility, when distant from participatory spaces and its ancestry.

Interviews

Each interview was analyzed separately, and, at the end, the results were organized together, because, during the reading and interpretation process, one can see how the themes were repeated and connected. Faced with the words that were repeated, categories were constructed that include all indicators of meaning (key words). In this process, seven categories were created: Origin/Ancestry; Movement to the city/migration; Community/Collective Work; Being indigenous; City life: challenges and advances; Impacts of the pandemic and Historical Memory as Resistance. Below, brief summaries of each category were constructed as a result of the interviews will be presented.

Origin/ancestry

It can be understood that the origin of the subjects is directly associated with the history of that subject’s ancestry. The knowledge of their ancestors, their territories and migration are transmitted through different cultural practices. Among these, orality, historical memory, conversation circles and bonfire stories were identified as means of reaching the origins of the subject; also, respect for the elderly, food and the way it is prepared, respect for spirituality and a sense of community. These cultural practices are examples of strengthening identity, preservation, and culture. Consequently, they strengthen the continuity of their ethnic people, as expressed in the speech of participant 3.

“[…] for us, it is very important for us to know our ancestry, our ancestors. We discover this in a fire circle, we are there with many elders. These are words passed from elders to elders and passed down to us—so it’s passed down from father to son. We sit around the fire every day and we listen to the elders. Elders, for us, are people of great wisdom, they have lived through many things. And these stories, for us, are important to know—where did my people come from and what did my people go through for me to be here. I cannot move on without knowing that my grandfather fought for me to be here, in this city; I cannot move forward without knowing where I came from and whom to thank, other than our Great Spirit. I must thank the Great Spirit, but I also must to thank my past, my ancestry, my ancestors, because otherwise, I don’t have a present and I don’t have a future […]”. (Participant 3).

The understanding of health, spirituality, body, and mind are present in the speech of participant 1, when he reports his experience with other ethnicities, plus his way of resisting the violence experienced through his cultural practices.

“We think it’s just spirituality, but it’s not just spirituality. We have our body, our spirit, but we need to take care of the mental as well. We deal with our mentality with art, singing, dancing, and that is what the Kaiowás and Guaranis ⁴ of Mato Grosso do Sul ⁵ have resisted, with their music, with their spirituality, with their dances and with their stories. Even in this tension, they continue with the bonfires, telling stories and laughing at the gaffes of everyday life. We laugh at us and make fun of our gaffes” (Participant 1).

The indigenous movement from the village to the city and the movement from the city to the indigenous village

When discussing the indigenous movement from the village to the city, it is essential to consider the movement from the city to the village, as well. These historical phenomena have existed since the invasion, by foreigners, of Brazilian territory and continues to this day. This migration occurs for several reasons, as well as cities taking over indigenous territories.

Each subject, community or group that seeks the urban context, carries a life story and ancestral memories, conscious, not conscious or silenced by the lived reality. Moving to a new territory or being born in it, a place so different and distant from their ancestral culture, brings great daily challenges. This process involves the struggle for the demarcation of land, the search for better living conditions, the search for universities and for work. Health conditions in the villages are often precarious, as resources are denied. Health centers are far away, and the community is no longer able to cure itself with their methods alone, given that cities have come closer and closer or invaded their territories. Universities are also not prepared to receive students of different ethnicities. Participant three counts next.

“(…) my mother unfortunately became very ill. Unfortunately, then I had to leave this reserve together with my mother; my father stayed, because my father is very difficult to get used to the city and everything; for him, it was always very difficult to deal with the urban context” (Participant 3).

Much of the population that goes to the city in search of better living conditions for their community end up living between the city and its village. With the new affirmative action policies (Mohlecke, 2002), there is a movement of indigenous people going to cities to study in universities. Many indigenous people aim to study and return to their villages to work for their people. Other indigenous people end up in the city and intend to stay in urban context. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of this affirmative action policy, but also to criticize those who fit, because the indigenous population in the city does not have this right, according to participants one and 2.

“I went through this whole historical process, my family too, I am not entitled to public reparation policies, which are the quotas, which I should be entitled to, because I went through a process of impoverishment, I just am not in a village” (Participant 2).

“If I say I’m black, no one will dispute it anymore. If I say I’m indigenous, they ask me: "What people? What language do you speak? Why are you indigenous? What village were you born in? Do you live in the village? When did you come from the village?.” It is not enough, in this relationship with the State, just to say that we are indigenous. They are creating criteria. They put public policies for the black population. If you are going to dispute a quota at the university, it is there on the register as pardo. ⁶ But if you say you're indigenous, you’ll have to take a letter from the leadership, do a lot of things. If you say you’re black, you don’t need the letter anymore, so it’s easier. So the State is forcing, as it has always done, people to stop declaring themselves indigenous and to declare anything else” (Participant 1).

The working condition of the indigenous population in an urban context (vialled or not) is outsourced and precarious, considering this historical context of exclusion, genocide, and indigenous invisibility in Brazil. The denial of indigenous identity has serious symbolic and material consequences. The State ends up legitimizing this place when it fails to provide differentiated attention that considers ethnic specificities. In this way, this population remains marginalized, occupying the slum, suffering racism since colonization. These phenomena are expressed in the speech of the participants below.

“Being an indigenous person in an urban context and being a landless person who lived in an occupation, always paid rent, a community (built) in an occupation, that is, a slum, without regularization, which to this day does not have a house of its own. And my family is like that too, my family has always had difficulty in having a regularized home” (Participant 2).

Community/collective work

Two points that converge on this path: the sense of community (as a social structure) and collectives/social movements. Many of the social organizations of different Brazilian ethnicities are structured in a community perspective, passing this way of living from generation to generation. For many ethnicities, the family is considered all those who live in their community, all children are the responsibility of everyone who lives there.

On the other hand, indigenous social movements, organizations, collectives, and community work, represent a participatory space for strengthening a specific population to face oppression and fight for denied rights. These spaces have great potential for each subject and for the group, since each one, with its specific objectives, seeks the same emancipatory horizon.

In the case of indigenous collectives, different reasons make the subjects participate in these spaces, namely: identification with other relatives; specific food, health, and work needs; strengthening the group for the indigenous cause and giving visibility to the indigenous population in an urban context; find/map other indigenous people in the region to participate in the collectives. All reasons follow the same emancipatory horizon. This importance can be confirmed in the following statements.

“[…] I started following the indigenous movement, around 2011, 2012 and I started to meet many indigenous people from the Northeast. So, seeing the indigenous people from the Northeast, I started to recognize the phenotype of my family: the curly-haired indigenous people, the type of facial features, including food […] I began to perceive, through the movement, this issue of historical context, that in Brazil there were several laws that criminalized indigenous people, there was a lot of racial prejudice against indigenous people. So, when you say you were indigenous, that was seen as savage. So I started to understand that positioning.” (Participant 2).

The maintenance of traditions, in an urban context, is also a way of self-affirming in the city, even if there is often a need to silence the origins, either by the context of the inserted subject, or by the history of evangelization of the Brazilian territory, by the lack of historical consciousness or by the conscious decision of the subject. Some reports of the participants below express the silencing and traditions in everyday life.

“So, even in the city, when we are communing with these indigenous medicines, or even working with plants, even if it is not in a ritual with (endogenous), because these substances are endogenous, (expansion of consciousness) and such … When we are working with plants, it really fills with meaning what it means to be indigenous in my view, because often, the indigenous person is in the territory, but is not necessarily within traditional practices.” (Participant 2).

In addition to the different reasons for the subjects to participate in the collectives, it is possible to identify group practices that enable the strengthening of identity and union to face the oppressive and adverse reality. Among the actions, there are: work with traditions; food project during the pandemic; workshops and discussions on the history of native peoples and the invasion of Brazilian territory; conversation circles about lived experiences and their life story; conversation circles about the cosmovision of their ethnicity with body paintings or in gourds. The different actions have something in common: the maintenance of historical memory.

This ancestral memory accompanies the different activities. Those who never had space to share their historical memory, today do. Those who are unaware of their ancestors now also have other relatives who can help in this process of searching for their origins. Conversation circles, workshops and performances bring to life the memory of the various indigenous ethnicities.

The work with traditions carries the ancestral memory in every detail, whether through specific cuisine, or through the identification of medicinal plants, as well as through painting on gourds, crafts, or specific body painting. Each of the works is involved in the history of a people, their wars, conquests, their gods, and their connections with nature and with enchanted beings. The act of working with the rescue of those memories that were hidden, silenced, and forgotten, brings back that identity that was silenced and that became invisible.

The potential of the collective space for the subjects is confirmed in the speech of Participant 2, when she refers to the discovery and transformation of her identity process, based on participation in the social movement.

“When I started following the indigenous movement, I had already overcome some things; I had already overcome, for example, my hair, which was curly. One thing that I didn’t seem to take well, that had already improved, but I wore a lot of makeup. And then I started to see myself as a person who could handle myself better without makeup. Because without the makeup, my eyes would look smaller. With makeup, we tune the nose, there’s that blush thing. And without the makeup, I looked more like an indigenous person—and I started to realize that. And I didn’t like it very much. But then I started to understand my origins and I started to like myself more naturally” (Participant 2).

Being indigenous/identity is…

The condition of being indigenous in an urban context needs to be discussed with some other particularities. What is urgent to point out is mainly the marginalization, exclusion, and invisibility that this population lives in their daily life in the city, in the objective words of the participants:

“(…) for me, being indigenous in an urban context is being a person who, in my context, who was born on the periphery, with few financial resources and without land, I think that characterizes me more. Being indigenous in an urban context and being a landless person who lived in an occupation, always paid rent, a community (built) in an occupation, that is, slum, without regularization, which to this day does not have a house of its own. And my family is also like that, my family has always had difficulty in having a regularized housing […] it is the indigenous who was expelled from their territory a long time ago and never managed to establish themselves socially, with social inclusion, in fact never it was part of that capitalist economy, it was never part of it, it never benefited from the imperialist economy, it never benefited from the colonial economy, it was always on the sidelines of it, and that is why I have no land” (Participant 2).

A category like this, so complex and profound, is not intended to present an attempt at generalization, but rather to discuss the situations experienced, so that we can reflect as psychology professionals, what our perspectives and (re)actions will be in the face of this reality.

So, we talk about the population that is invisible. The silencing of indigenous identity is a Brazilian historical phenomenon, which, until today, entails the loss of rights and, consequently, a lot of suffering. This silencing may have a purpose behind it, trying to preserve itself from the discrimination that they live in the urban context, or even the lack of knowledge of their origins. We can say that it is historical, as it happens from the invasion to the present day, in different ways. Hiding your identity has great meaning when we talk about a country that, until today, does not consider itself multicultural and is still genocidal.

Life in the city: Challenges and advances

Traditions are preserved and experienced in everyday life and at work through workshops and courses on indigenous cuisine, craft workshops, medicinal plants and through natural treatments. The exchange of knowledge brings an enchantment to children, a discovery of the new, of what was not told in textbooks or said by adults. This encounter with the new, through experience and affection, not only for children, but also for adults, deconstructs that initial conception presented by a large part of society. In this way, new conditions arise for knowing the other, transforming stereotypes and discrimination built throughout history. Transformation takes place through curiosity, enchantment, and respect for diversity.

From the challenges encountered in everyday life, we can highlight the public health service where, often, the indigenous identity and its specificities are disregarded. For example, civil servants demand a letter from FUNAI (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples is the of the Brazilian State) from indigenous to confirm their identities. This is due to the lack of knowledge and/or indifference of policies regarding the indigenous population, since Convention No. 119 169, on indigenous and tribal peoples (International Labor Organization, 2011), xxiv, recognizes the right to self-declaration as a criterion for identification of populations, the right to land and prior consultation. It also gives them the right to “take control of their own institutions and ways of life and their economic development and to maintain and strengthen their identities, languages and religions within the scope of the States in which they live” (p.13).

The act of parents to register their children’s surname, based on the ethnicity to which they are linked, is also an example of difficulties. There is ignorance and/or indifference to the law on the part of sectors of the State and civil society. This results in the maintenance of discrimination and prejudice against the indigenous people. Consequently, this process results in more lack of rights and trivializes violence and prejudice (Meireles & Guzzo, 2019).

Indigenous visibility and invisibility are associated with the silencing of identity. Here we identify three points that must be discussed: on the indigenous who hide their identities to protect themselves; about the indigenous who have the maintenance of work and struggle in the city as a manifest of their visibility; and the third point, the invisibility associated with the indigenous stereotype, which is a consequence of colonization. There are stereotypes built throughout Brazilian history, referring to a folkloric image of indigenous people. According to these stereotypes, they should only live isolated and naked in the forests. This false perception brings as a consequence the increase in the difficulty and integration of the indigenous people, who live in the cities, with society and sectors of the State. Since the indigenous people who live in the city do not fit the (false) stereotype that the population has of their image, the process of detachment and suffering are reinforced, along with intolerance. This makes it very difficult for them to be part of the country, with the right to come and go, to use technologies, universities, to live in the city. These are some of the absurdities that are thought, spoken, and practiced in the daily lives of non-indigenous people and by the Brazilian State.

From the perspective of the subject, those who hide their identities do so with a real and necessary objective: to preserve themselves from prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes, suffered daily in the different spheres of indigenous life in the city. This silencing can be understood as the subject’s resistance in the city, a form of preservation to live in a violent and vulnerable place. The excerpt highlighted below confirms the existential need for silencing.

(…) “my father used to say to her (wife): “don’t tell them, don’t tell them these things.” Why did my father say that? I found out in 2009. His family was threatened by farmers. They lived on a farm background. They were farm workers. So, the farmer always said: “Are there indigenous here?.” Whoever raised his hand, no one ever saw again. Disappeared. My father grew up in that pressure. My grandfather put a name on each child. My father doesn’t have the same last name as my uncles. Each one has a name, because if you find one, you don’t find the others; if they find the children, they do not find the father; if they find the father, they do not find the children.” (Participant 1).

Impacts of the pandemic

Among the difficulties encountered at this moment in which we live until the moment of this analysis, the following stand out: the loss of work; the subtraction of income; the lack of food; health impairment; the distancing of indigenous people in an urban context from their family and community. Also, the isolation of indigenous students, in the metropolitan region who could not return to their homes and had to remain isolated (in a completely different context from their own). It is also important to include the lack of vaccine and the lack of emergency actions by the State, related to the entire Brazilian indigenous population.

Historical memory as resistance

The category of ‘historical memory’ was present throughout the study. It presents itself through the history of the indigenous people, through their cultural traditions and practices, through their work in the city, through the traditions passed on to their children, through the struggle to put their own ethnic group in her children’s surname. Also, through the struggle for visibility and respect for the indigenous in the city, as expressed in the speeches of participants one and three.

“This is a resistance movement. I’m in the movement because of the exchange with my mother. The memory exchange that I have with my children is what will guarantee… or not. It will depend a lot on what we build now. Today’s resistance will set the tone for tomorrow’s resistance. But that helps a lot. That’s resistance too, but it’s not just that. It’s no use passing on these stories if they know that the father just passed on the story and did nothing to change it. I believe it doesn’t help much. We need to count this contribution so that, in fact, it is alive” (Participant 1).

“And these stories, for us, are important to know where my people come from and what my people go through for me to be here. I cannot move on without knowing that my grandfather fought for me to be here, in this city; I cannot move forward without knowing where I came from and whom to thank, other than our Great Spirit” (Participant 3).

Historical memory is a path of existential, human and political struggle for the search for the rights denied to its people, an identity struggle for its self-declaration and maintenance of its way of living, struggle and resistance to the right to life in the present and future generations, struggle and resistance for the land that was stolen, a struggle and resistance for Planet Earth, so that future generations can continue (r)existing and living (Abitbol, 2018; Gomez, 2009). The further away from its history, the easier it is to be led and to question less, accepting the oppressive reality posed (Martín-Baró, 1998a; Guzzo, 2012). Perhaps this is also why indigenous peoples in Brazil have been fighting for over 500 years with great strength and resistance, as they know of their ancestry. And if there is a possible way to advance in the decolonization process, it is starting with the search for our origins, our “remembering”, our historical memory (Chauca et al., 2004).

For this, it is necessary to look at Brazilian history and soul, as Dias and Gambini (1999) say. The act of recognizing oneself as a human being, with awareness and ability to name the world, knowing how to define how life should be. A quest to reveal the lack of knowledge about ourselves, about our people and our country, that part of our identity that has been kept since the European invasion.

Discussion

In view of the results presented above, it can be concluded that the indigenous population, in an urban context, uses historical memory in the different dimensions of life, being at work, in the city, in their daily practices, in spirituality, in acts of resistance for identity, in the preservation of its culture and through medicines. Therefore, historical memory is configured as a tool that expands the dimension of being indigenous in the city, making it possible to recognize oneself as an indigenous person from the historical records of memory, favoring the strengthening and resistance in the face of violence experienced in daily life (Aravena, 2003).

Resistance brings a meaning of daily struggle for the good life, for (r)existence, whether in communities or in the city. Being aware of their origins and maintaining their cultural practices is the way that gives meaning to life, opposing the hidden or the silenced.

In addition to wars and resistance, the history lived by the indigenous population—both in the city and in other contexts—causes, to this day, great psychosocial suffering. This process has consequences for the personal history of each indigenous; it also damages the history of the ethnic group to which they belong. This finding is fundamental for our practice as psychology professionals because it is by understanding the history and subjectivity inherent in the process that we advance to awareness and sensitivity in the face of such a situation. Thus, it must be said that culture is not static, as it is in constant movement, confirming that the indigenous does not cease to be indigenous by being born or living in the city. What guarantees the identification of these subject is the feeling of belonging, their state of consciousness, their daily activities, their beliefs related to ethnic origin and cultural practices.

This subject develops in their daily life in different dimensions, such as those identified in the results of this investigation: work, spirituality, food, health and collective. Indigenous traditions are expressed through historical memory that has the potential to raise awareness, giving meaning to life, opposing the hidden silence. This tool favors resistance in everyday life in search of well-being. Also, it strengthens the subject or group so that there is a greater confrontation of oppressions. Regardless of the place where you live, if there is any kind of forgetting of origins (language, ancestry, titles, etc.), this forgetting must be contextualized and discussed as consequences of colonization, prejudice, and intolerance. (Scheme 1)

Scheme 1.

Dimensions of everyday life.

The different collective spaces proved to be potential for strengthening the participants. It is in the process of recognizing oneself as an autonomous person, author of its own history, with its origins and belonging to a group (not just alone), that it becomes possible to face everyday violence.

The understanding of ‘being’ indigenous in the city was identified throughout the speeches and field diaries, from the perspective of the interviewes, as: without the right to land; without historical repair; live the daily challenges of discrimination; people who reinvent themselves in their cultural practices; they add and update their cultures with urban culture; people who transformed their cultural practices into work in the city; mainly, they preserve, value and keep the memories alive, passing them on to the younger generations.

Historical memory is presented as a powerful tool for recognition and belonging, in which it creates possibilities to open a new field of research. This category confirmed its importance in the analysis and the need for further studies.

There were some research limits regarding methodology due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was necessary to adapt the sources of information, since the groups did not meet during the 2 years that the search for information was carried out.

In addition to the technical difficulties, the pandemic moment was impactful, given that being in contact with the loss of rights of many indigenous people, plus the knowledge of diseases and consequent mental disorders, brought great frustration, since it was not possible to be close to the groups (in person)

Another great challenge, of a theoretical nature, was being able to separate and organize the categories into different dimensions, since they complement each other. Clifford (2013) emphasizes that the vision of indigenous people can be expressed in different narratives according to their ethnicities and life experiences. The moment of construction of information becomes complex in qualitative research as, working with subjectivity, one works in a non-linear way. The dimensions are manifested in a dialectical way, which makes it difficult to discuss each one separately.

Conclusion

This study presented the importance of the category of historical memory as a tool for resistance and strengthening of the participants involved, representing a possible path of psychosocial practice in relation to peoples who were historically marginalized and oppressed. It was possible to confirm the potential in this field of psychology, which needs to be deepened in future studies. Likewise, such studies can be put into practice, bringing action strategies, technical productions and reflections that contribute to our profession and to the transformation of society. It is from praxis that we can build new knowledge that responds to our current demands.

It is necessary to rethink the indigenous reality. Rethinking them in an autonomous and liberating way, far from the pejorative and/or prejudiced interpretations that guide coloniality. In this way, implement practical, epistemic, and ethical processes of decolonization of our time and our society, favoring the recognition, respect and security of differences, alterities and the different models of interpretation, action and being.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) of Brazil. Article based on Mariana Feldmann’s PhD entitled “Psychology and Indigenous Peoples in an Urban Context: Historical Memory as Resistance”. Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, 2022.

Ethical approval

This study complies with the ethical principles guided by the National Health Council, according to Resolution No. 466/2012, being approved by the Ethics Committee of the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas) and authorized by the coordinators of the groups and interview participants. Opinion number No. 4,784,020.

ORCID iD

Feldmann Mariana

Notes

Author Biographies

Mariana Feldmann is PhD by the Graduate Program in Psychology as a Profession and Science at PUC-Campinas, by the research group Psychosocial Assessment and Intervention: prevention, community and liberation guided by Prof^a. Dr. Raquel Souza Lobo Guzzo (). Mariana did part of her PhD at Massey University in New Zealand on a scholarship. She has a master's degree in Psychology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas. Today, she is also a university professor. Trained Education professionals in two schools in the Municipal of Campinas. She worked for ECOAR (Space for Coexistence, Action and Reflection), a psychosocial extension project at PUC-Campinas. She is part of the support network for indigenous students at a university in Campinas.

Raquel Souza Lobo Guzzo is a full professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas). Graduated in Psychology from PUC-Campinas, Master's and Doctorate in School Psychology and Development from USP. He has a postdoctoral degree from the University of Texas / USA, a Psychological Assessment and the University of Rochester / USA in Development of Mental Health Prevention Programs. She is linked to the Graduation and Post-Graduation in Psychology of PUC-Campinas, supervising Internship in Schools and Communities and orienting students of Scientific Initiation, Master's and Doctorate. Coordinator of the Working Group on School and Educational Psychology at ANPEPP. He is active in the area of Community Care and Support Programs, discussing training and professional intervention, based on Critical Psychology, Preventive and Psychosocial Interventions, Liberation Psychology and Consciousness Processes, Community Psychology and Participatory Action Research. The scientific production is organized under the Research Group - Psychosocial Assessment and Intervention: Prevention, Community and Liberation ().

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