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This monograph examines discursive constructions of contemporary indigeneity in and through digitalmedia. Relying on the Discourse Ethnographic Approach (DEA) and also inspired by the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) and digital ethnography, this research identifies how different collective mediainitiatives - Rádio Yandê, APIB, Mídia Indígena, Tybyra and ASCURI developed by Indigenous people inBrazil - articulate their own perspectives about indigeneity. Positioned within the broad field ofcommunication for development and social change, this dissertation underlines the relevance of mediaproduced outside the centres of power. It argues for the importance of Indigenous media production.

The analysis focuses on self-representations produced and circulated by the aforementioned digital mediainitiatives between 2018 and 2022. Furthermore, this study discusses how such initiatives communicateindigeneity to outsiders and to other social movements. The empirical material consists of recordedconversations with Indigenous media producers, fieldnotes of online and on-site observations and digitalmedia material: social media posts, videos and livestreams. In line with DHA, the socio-historical context isemphasised in the analysis. The theoretical framework combines the concept of discourse with the notionsof pan-indigeneity and coloniality.

The analytical procedure applies the concepts of discourse topics and discourse strategies. The researchidentified seven relevant discourse topics: (1) occupying digital media, (2) talking-back, (3) calling foraction, (4) counter-stereotypes, (5) counter memories, (6) environmental justice, and (7) land rights. Thefindings highlight that digital communications are represented as territories by Indigenous producers andthat Indigenous media production is understood as a form of collective resistance. Furthermore, the analysisfound that digital communications are used by Indigenous producers to recontextualise derogatorystereotypes related to indigeneity. Finally, the analysis found that within a discourse of nature protection,Indigenous media and movements have a fruitful arena to articulate their claims for land rights.

This paper examines how Indigenous peoples use digital media as a strategy for resistance in contemporary Brazil. The specific focus is on the Association of Indigenous Culture Directors Ascuri and its work in the Kaiowa and Guarani territories in the south of Mato Grosso do Sul. Our aim is to discuss Ascuri’s work within the perspective of Indigenous self-determination and autonomy and we specially focus on the concept of tekoha. In Guarani language, tekoha combines two crucial concepts: life (teko) and place (ha). Structured as a case study, the paper examines Ascuri’s work departing from reflections about the production of two projects developed by the Association: the project Mosarambihára (2014-2016) and the short-film Mokõi Kovoé (2021), both available on the platform YouTube. Additionally, we offer a description of Ascuri’s presence on corporate media platforms (YouTube and Instagram), its own webpage (www.ascuri.org) and onsite events organized by Ascuri. The methods used in this article are observations (online and onsite) and dialogues between the authors, one of whom is an Ascuri member. The findings suggest important aspects of Ascuri’s relevance to Indigenous territories: intergenerational proximity with older spiritual leaders and the attempted dialogues between different generations via media production. We observed that Ascuri’s work combines online and offline efforts to build collective memory.

The year 2020 was strange for Indigenous movements in Brazil. On-site gatherings were cancelled due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Indigenous movements, in connection with Indigenous media initiatives, aimed at occupying the screens instead. An abundance of live streams popped up on diverse social media platforms. During April 2020, online observations were carried out using an approach inspired by digital ethnography. This article offers a discussion about collecting research data within this changing context. The main aim is to reflect upon online observations as research practice and live streams as sources for scholarly investigation. Additionally, this paper discusses how to think about presence, place and temporality in the research context. 

2020 var ett underligt år för urfolksrörelser i Brasilien. På grund av utbrottet av Covid-19 ställdes många av deras planerade sammankomster och träffar in. Istället höll urfolksgrupper massor av “liveströmmar” på sociala medieplattformar. Den här artikeln bygger på digital etnografi där sådana liveströmmar studeras. Online-observationerna genomfördes i april 2020. Artikeln bidrar med en diskussion om att samla in forskningsdata i sådana föränderliga sammanhang. Huvudsyftet är att reflektera över online-observationer som forskningspraxis och liveströmmar som källor för vetenskapliga undersökningar. Dessutom diskuteras hur forskare kan tänka om närvaro, plats och temporalitet i sådana kontexter.

Indigenous peoples’ movements in Brazil have been increasing their presence and visibility online in recent years, especially in social media. Inspired by Norman Fairclough’s early work on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and communicative events, we explore two protests organized by Indigenous rights movements shortly after the right-wing nationalist President Jair Bolsonaro took office in January 2019. Social media content connected to #Red January and #Free Land Camp are analysed, focusing on the use of Facebook by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (APIB), and the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter activities of Rádio Yandê, a pioneer online radio station established by Indigenous peoples. The chapter highlights how Indigenous media activists construct their contemporary indigeneity online, on their own terms, challenging hegemonic stereotypes and dominant discourses that seek to undermine their legitimacy and power. The analysis shows that both movements articulate, negotiate and translate their identities in connection to ideas of land, nature and justice. Digital networks complicate and impact the dynamics of local, national and global discourse, and also attest to the significance of Indigenous owned media initiatives in the strive for social progress.

This article offers a reflection on the role of knowledge systems in the relations between models and practices of production and re-production of the social life of Kaiowa and Guaranicollectives in the border area of Brazil and Paraguay. The aim is to situate the Kaiowa and Guarani knowledge systems within the Teacher Education program of the Indigenous Licentiate program Teko Arandu, offered at the Indigenous Intercultural Faculty (FAIND) of the Federal University of Grande Dourados (UFGD). The text explores the Indigenous appropriation of academic knowledge and technologies that may have a result on cosmological revisions and strategies for claiming rights. These appropriations are agents of new forms of articulations between knowledge systems.