By SAFIYA MOHAMED
Published by San Diego State University Press under its new Girassol Books imprint, Reflections from the Inside: New Indigenous Scholarship from Brazil in Translation, edited by Kristal Bivona and Manuela Cordeiro, introduces groundbreaking work by emerging Indigenous scholars from Brazil.
The collection responds to a critical gap in available resources. While designing a new B.A. in Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, educators identified a lack of translated texts that reflect non-hegemonic, Indigenous perspectives. Reflections from the Inside brings together five essays written by young Indigenous researchers, offering a necessary corrective to the historical invisibility of these voices in academic and public discourse.
Each contributor is also associated with the Brazilian Articulation of Indigenous Anthropologists (ABIA), an organization committed to anti-racist activism and the promotion of Indigenous rights, both within and beyond academic spaces. These scholars are not only researchers but also active participants in public policy forums, activist movements, and cultural institutions. The essays featured were originally published in peer-reviewed academic journals in Brazil and are now available in English for the first time.
The collection spans a wide range of topics and methodologies:
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Chapter One: "Indigenous Anthropologists and the Spectacle of Otherness"
Felipe Sotto Maior Cruz (Tuxá) offers a critical analysis of the field of anthropology, focusing on Indigenous students’ experiences in Brazilian universities and the systemic barriers they encounter. -
Chapter Two: "Sociogenesis of the Ethnic Mobilization that Occurred in the Serra do Truarú Community"
Eriki Aleixo Wapichana traces the history of Indigenous land struggles in Roraima, combining local oral histories with case studies from global Indigenous movements to reveal the driving forces behind territorial mobilizations. -
Chapter Three: "Colonization on Indigenous Women: A Reflection on Body Care"
Braulina Aurora Baniwa explores the lasting impacts of colonization on Baniwa women's ancestral body care practices, particularly the role Christian missionary activity played in disrupting the transmission of traditional knowledge. -
Chapter Four: "Collective Authorship and Autoethnography"
Ana Manoela Primos dos Santos (Karipuna) challenges dominant academic practices by proposing a model of collective authorship, grounded in the Karipuna concept of maiuhi — mutual support and joint effort — as central to ethnographic work. -
Chapter Five: "The Cosmology of the Image"
Edgar Kanaykõ Xacriabá examines the power of photography in Indigenous struggles, using his documentation of the 2017 Free Land Encampment in Brasília to highlight how images serve both cultural survival and political resistance.
Reflections from the Inside offers essential perspectives for readers interested in Indigenous rights, decolonial thought, anthropology, Brazilian studies, and beyond. It brings urgent new voices to the forefront and invites a rethinking of scholarship, authorship, and resistance.
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| Reflections from the Inside |
Now available from Girassol Books, an imprint of San Diego State University Press.
$16.95 USA
ISBN 10: 1938537610
ISBN 13: 978-1938537615
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