Xipai Rebirth: An Ethnography of the Cultural Strengthening Movement of an Indigenous People of the Middle Xingu

• Grant number: 24/12289-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology - Indigenous Ethnology
• Principal Investigator: Renato Sztutman
• Grantee: Moises Souza de Sena
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Throughout much of the 20th century, the Xipai were portrayed as an indigenous people on the brink of extinction, already acculturated and integrated into Brazilian national society. Beginning in the late 1980s, to counter these imposed identifications, the Xipai initiated an intense mobilization to seek ethnic recognition and rights over their traditional territories. Since then, as a result of this political struggle for self-determination, they have developed what they call the cultural strengthening movement, which aims to organize and promote a series of initiatives focused on affirming and strengthening Xipai culture. This project, therefore, proposes an ethnography of this movement, concentrating on the forms of action, discourses, and practices that constitute it, and considering the current context in which this people is situated: a socio-cultural landscape impacted by the implementation of developmental policies in the Middle Xingu region, particularly the megaproject of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant (UHEBM).