Old Power Struggles and New Media Work: Indigenous Peoples’ Striving for Justice in Contemporary Brazil

Abstract

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 Radio Yande, 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.