Abstract
Research in several Latin American countries points to violence, loss of traditional territories, and seeking education, health, and wage labor as key variables in triggering rural–urban migration among Indigenous people. This study presents an analysis of the migration patterns of Indigenous people in Brazil, compared to non-indigenous people, based on data from the most recent national census, conducted in 2010. Migration characteristics related to lifetime migration and recent migration were investigated by means of descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses. The findings pointed to complex mobility scenarios according to migrants’ Indigenous status and geographical regions of origin and destination. Indigenous people living in urban areas presented high levels of mobility (approximately 50% lived in different municipalities from those where they were born), which were more pronounced than those of non-Indigenous people. Indigenous people living in rural areas presented the lowest levels of migration (approximately 90% residing in their municipality of birth). Statistical modeling confirmed the patterns observed in descriptive analysis, highlighting the marked mobility of Indigenous subjects in urban areas. We emphasize the limitations of using census data for characterizing Indigenous mobility profiles, although no other nationally representative data are available. The finding that the Indigenous population living in urban areas presents rates of migration higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts is particularly important for the planning and implementation of a broad range of public policies aimed at ethnic minorities in the country, including health, education, and housing initiatives.
Highlights
In international debates about Indigenous people and their relationships with nation states, the production of official statistics has been increasingly emphasized as a strategy to promote their visibility in national and global spheres (Axelsson and Sköld 2011; Anderson et al 2016; Kukutai and Taylor 2016)
The findings of this study, which focuses on migration patterns of the Indigenous population in Brazil according to data from the 2010 National Census, point to complex mobility scenarios, especially but as they relate to the urban/rural dimension
While Indigenous people living in urban areas presented high levels of lifetime mobility, which were more pronounced than for non-Indigenous people, those living in rural areas presented the lowest levels
Summary
In international debates about Indigenous people and their relationships with nation states, the production of official statistics has been increasingly emphasized as a strategy to promote their visibility in national and global spheres (Axelsson and Sköld 2011; Anderson et al 2016; Kukutai and Taylor 2016). In Latin America, especially since the 1990s, there has been a significant expansion in the collection of population data about Indigenous people, especially by means of national demographic censuses (Oliveira 1999; McSweeney and Arps 2005; Oyarce et al 2009; Del Popolo et al 2011; Angosto-Ferrández and Kradolfer 2012). As pointed out by Loveman (2014), many countries in the region have experienced major changes in governmental policies affecting ethnic minorities, including the recognition of Indigenous people, their legal rights, and need to be represented in national statistics. The production of demographic information for Indigenous populations in Latin America reflects a global trend toward enhancing statistical visibility of Indigenous minorities, but is attributable to the strengthening of Indigenous political movements in the region (Oyarce et al 2009; Angosto-Ferrández and Kradolfer 2012)
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