On 21 June the Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies (ANCLAS) and the ANU First Nations Portfolio co-hosted the third in a series of discussions with experts from Latin American countries – in this case Brazil - to compare and contrast approaches to indigenous issues. The series is intended to inform debate as Australians prepare for a referendum to amend the Constitution to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The Vice President of the First Nations Portfolio, Peter Yu, gave an overview of the historical struggle to achieve Indigenous recognition and representation in Australia. He also provided background to the upcoming referendum to establish an Indigenous Voice and addressed some of the arguments posed by groups contesting the proposal.

The panel of speakers on Brazil’s experience comprised Leonardo Barros Soares (Federal University of Viçosa), Priscylla Joca (Toronto Metropolitan University) and Gasparini Kaingang (International Adviser to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples). They noted that indigenous Brazilians currently make up 0.5% of the total population but indigenous lands encompass 13% of national territory. Despite certain advances in the past decades, in particular since the election of President Lula da Silva in 2022, the gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Brazilians on all socio-economic indicators is significant.

In common with its regional neighbours panellists concluded that for Brazil’s Indigenous peoples the colonial legacy has been mostly negative. Exceptionally, however, the Portuguese administration accepted the concept of “indigenata” by which it recognised the pre-existence of Indigenous sovereignty over ancestral lands. The most recent legal breakthrough for Indigenous peoples in Brazil was the adoption of a new Constitution in 1988, which contained articles enumerating basic rights (including land rights, the right to be consulted on the use of water and exploitation of mineral wealth on indigenous lands, and the right to represent themselves in the courts).

The record of successive Brazilian governments in implementing these rights has in practice been mixed. However, with a change of government, the establishment of a Ministry for Indigenous peoples and an ever-increasing number of Indigenous scholars, lawyers and activists participating in social and political life, there is a degree of momentum that gives hope for incremental progress on Indigenous rights in the future.

A full recording of the discussion can be viewed here.