Abstract
In 1988 I was appointed by the Brazilian Anthropological Association (ABA) to the task of officially identifying and legitimizing remnant quilombo1 communities in Alcântara, Maranhão State, Brazil, whose existence was threatened by the installation of a military missile base in this area. My appointment resulted from an agreement signed between ABA and Brazil's Attorney General's Office in 2002, and my responsibility entailed preparing an expert report to constitute their ethnicity and just claim to land. By definition, anthropological expert reports have the purpose of providing inputs and technical support for judicial and extrajudicial processes of Brazil's Federal Prosecution Service (Ministério Público Federal—MPF) in questions regarding the rights and interests of indigenous peoples, remnant quilombo communities, and other groups. The guiding principal in this genre of work is that anthropological expertise is essential in understanding the mechanisms employed by these populations in asserting their ethnic identity and the rights that accrue to them.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
