In Between an Indigenous Village and Skyscrapers: Identity, Immigration and Urban Indigenous Territoriality in Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract

The present article is a result of an ethnographic investigation and has as its main objective the reflection upon a present and relevant social context: the indigenous people living in urban centers of Latin America. We have analyzed the current situation of a target group through a case study focused on three main themes: identity, territoriality and immigration and labor market. The target group has been an indigenous community located within the urban area of the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil, actually composed by 35 indigenous families from three different ethnics: Guaraní, Kaingang and Xetá. These ethnic groups are faced daily with a series of problems and issues of concern to most of other indigenous Latin-American urban communities: maintenance and the exercise of their specific identities, access and urban demarcation of indigenous areas, and means of survival and labor integration in the cities where they live. We think this study may serve as a reference and comparison to other case studies of similar realities.