ABSTRACT
This article’s main aim is to further academic understanding of the 1978 Emancipation Decree and of the actions of organized civil society, which were permeated by emerging Indigenous protagonism. Increasing opposition empowerment against authoritarian political forces, who wished to impose the referred decree, is what sustains the idea that the historical and political scene concerning this project of forced indigenous emancipation represents the second founding event of the Indigenous Movement in Brazil. One of the conclusions was that the act of emancipating Indigenous people could be recognized as a notorious state mistake towards diverse ethnic groups of the country. The main historical sources used in the article were, among others, a 1979 publication entitled Histórico da Emancipação (Emancipation History), issued by the organization called Comissão Pró-Índio de São Paulo (Pro-Indian Commission of Sao Paulo), as well as several dossiers found in the Arquivo Nacional (National Archive).
Keywords:
The 1978 Emancipation Decree; Indigenous Protagonism; Civil Society; Indigenous Movement; State