"Indigenous memory needs to be heard," says indigenous rights activist Gustavo Guerreiro.

247 - In interview with the program good night 247Gustavo Guerreiro, an expert on indigenous affairs at FUNAI (National Indian Foundation), researcher at the Observatory of Nationalities, and PhD in Public Policy, addressed the history of violence against indigenous peoples in Brazil and the challenges they face today. During the conversation, he highlighted the persistent invisibility of indigenous memories and the need for resistance. "I studied the influence of the Armed Forces on Brazilian indigenous policy, and this text emerged in the heat of discussions about the Golden Globe award for the film *Still Here*, which is excellent. I sought to write this text to draw attention to this invisibilized memory," stated Guerreiro.

The researcher used references from the Austrian sociologist Michael Polak to discuss the "invisible hierarchy of grief," a concept that reflects how certain memories are structurally silenced. "Some memories need to be silenced through the political use of force, but at the same time, this silence can be a form of existence," he explained. According to Guerreiro, the oral transmission of these memories within indigenous communities has been a fundamental instrument of resistance.

Indigenous policy and military dictatorship

Guerreiro outlined the landscape of Brazilian indigenous policy from the Proclamation of the Republic, when the SPI (Indian Protection Service) was created, until its replacement by FUNAI during the military dictatorship. "The positivist military viewed indigenous peoples as being between barbarism and civilization," he stated. During the dictatorship, violence against indigenous peoples intensified, with forced displacements, cultural and physical genocide, such as aerial napalm bombings against the Waimiri-Atroari, food poisoning, and the deliberate spread of diseases.

The 1988 Constitution was a historical landmark in recognizing the self-determination of indigenous peoples, with Article 231 guaranteeing their original rights to their territories and Article 232 allowing indigenous people to access the justice system without needing guardianship. However, Guerreiro points out that "the provision that all indigenous lands would be demarcated within five years was not fulfilled, and today, decades later, we are still far from that."

Current government and future challenges

Commenting on the current political landscape, Guerreiro acknowledged progress, such as the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and some land demarcations, but pointed out significant limitations. "The balance of power in Congress is very unfavorable, with a very powerful rural caucus. Lula's government is centrist, not leftist, which imposes restrictions," he assessed. Despite this, he stressed the importance of maintaining resistance: "As Gramsci said: pessimism of reason, optimism of action." Watch: