Print version ISSN 0104-9313
FERREIRA, Andrey Cordeiro. Borders, history and identities: symbolic struggle in indigenous land demarcation processes. Mana [online]. 2010, vol.5Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0104-9313.
The present article analyzes the issue of the border based upon a study of the experiences of the Terena indigenous people in Mato Grosso do Sul. This people lives in villages situated in an international border region. I present a number of theoretical reflections on symbolic conflicts, the border development process and its effects on indigenous societies. The article contains two analytic movements: 1. an analysis of the symbolic conflict permeating the legal processes, linked to the territorial conflicts between the Terena and rural producers, showing how the idea of the border is activated in the construction of political mechanisms for excluding and (de)legitimizing ethnic groups; 2. an analysis of the State’s border policies, territorial dynamics and its confrontation with indigenous symbolic policies in different local situations along the border, which also form part of the symbolic struggle for recognition of the legitimacy of indigenous identities and territories.
Keywords : Border; Identity; Terena.