Contributions of Racial-Ethnic Reclassification and Demographic Processes to Indigenous Population Resurgence: The Case of Brazil

• Published in: Latin American research review 2008-01, Vol.43 (2), p.7-33
• Main Authors: Perz, Stephen G., Warren, Jonathan, Kennedy, David P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 20th century; American Indians; Brazil; Census regions; Censuses; Citizenship; Classification; College professors; Cultural anthropology; Cultural identity; Deaths; Democratization; Demographic research; Demography; Ethnic identity; Ethnicity; Ethnology; Fertility; Human rights; Identity; Identity politics; Indigenous peoples; Indigenous Populations; Interethnic relations; Latin American studies; Migration; Mortality; Native peoples; Native rights; Neoliberalism; Political activism; Political identity; Political movements; Politics; Population decline; Population estimates; Population Growth; Quantitative analysis; Race; Racial identity; Racism; Regional studies; Social activism; Social exclusion; Social structure and social relations; Studies; Taxonomic revisions
• ISSN: 0023-8791; 1542-4278; 1542-4278
• DOI: 10.1353/lar.0.0019

In many Latin American countries, indigenous populations have recently exhibited rapid growth. Many scholars recognize that this indigenous population resurgence is due to a combination of demographic processes, such as births, deaths, and migration, as well as changing racial-ethnic identities. However, there is little quantitative data verifying the relative importance of these two types of processes for indigenous population growth. We seek to fill this gap by quantifying the relative contribution of both mechanisms in Brazil's indigenous population resurgence. Our findings indicate that during the 1990s, race-ethnic reclassification was more important than demographic processes. This varied regionally, in that identity change was most important in northeastern and southeastern Brazil. These findings bear implications regarding indigenous movements, identity politics, and prospective indigenous population growth in Brazil and elsewhere. /// Em muitos países da America Latina, as populações indígenas cresceram rapidamente nos ultimos anos. Muitos acadêmicos reconhecem que este crescimento ocorreu devido a uma combinação de processos demográficos, como nascimentos, mortes e migração, e a mudanças de identidade racial e étnica. Entretanto, há poucos dados quantitativos para verificar a importância relativa destes dois tipos de processos para o crescimento das populações indígenas. Nos buscamos preencher este espaço ao quantificar a contribuição relativa de cada mecanismo para o crescimento da população indígena no Brasil. Nossos resultados indicam que durante os anos 1990, reclassificação de raça e etnicidade foram mais importantes do que os processos demográficos. Este resultado variou regionalmente, pois mudança de identidade foi mais importante no nordeste e sudeste do Brasil. Estes resultados tem implicações para os movimentos indígenas, políticas de identidade e para o crescimento futuro da população indígena no Brasil e em outros lugares.