O CONCEITO DE ÍNDIO NA AMÉRICA
UMA CATEGORIA DA SITUAÇÃO COLONIAL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/1982-6524.133901Abstract
In the first part the author reviews the main formulations which have been proposed in order to define the Indian in the New World. He finds that all of them are based on the ethnic characteristics of the indigenous groups, there-fore unfit to cover the Indian peoples as a whole. As an alternative he proposes a distinction between the categories of "Indian" and "ethnic group". The former would lead to a supra-ethnic category, denoting a specific linkage between the groups thus denominated and the larger society of which they form part. This relationship is colonial by its nature and the category of "Indian" is synonymous to that of "colonized", the Indians being the colonized people of the Western Hemisphere. The "ethnic group" category, on the other hand, refers to the specific historical units which possess a common past and a series of communication codes and peculiar and distinctive ties. On this general thesis, the author presents a brief review of the experience of the Indian in American history and discusses his present situation, finding that the colonial relationship has persisted in spite of the disappearance of the classic colonial regime. Briefly, he discusses the position of the Indian segment in contemporary national societies and its relationship with the dominant mode of production (dependente monopolistic capitalism). Finally, several considerations are expressed regarding the implications of the author's thesis on the current orientation of indigenist policies.
