Indigenous influencers and Indigenous media

Capítulo 11.

Indigenous influencers and Indigenous media

Wider internet access, smartphone devices, and the appropriation of applications such as WhatsApp and social media were often highlighted in the responses of Indigenous people and interested and engaged audiences as one of the 'most significant changes' of the past decade.

Indigenous people “demarcating screens” was described as a “direct and unmediated” channel of communication with society, which allows “to inform and reduce the ignorance gap”, and “give more visibility to Indigenous struggles, arts, and knowledge”. It also helps to “confront and combat prejudiced and distorted views”, such as those that question Indigenous people using social media and mobile phones, and to denounce rights violations, land invasions, and racism. In order to demonstrate how significant this change has been, some respondents recalled times when the communication of Indigenous peoples with the surrounding society was restricted and mediated by Funai radio channels.

The internet and social networks were and are commonly cited by Indigenous people as tools for struggle and resistance. Several respondents pointed out that social networks have also been important to promote self-affirmation, wider recognition of the value of Indigenous identities, and exchanges and connections between different peoples and cultures. They described social media as essential for the recognition of their voices: they provide greater visibility to the Indigenous cause and their work, and facilitate the construction and strengthening of affective and support networks involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Specific profiles of Indigenous influencers were mentioned only by some of the engaged audiences, such as civil society representatives and anthropologists.

Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram
Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram
Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram
Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram
Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram
Photo credit: Reproduction from Instagram

In addition to being at the forefront of deconstructing stereotypes, Indigenous influencers were described as among those who best present and represent the diversity of Indigenous peoples today, who build new narratives and oppose counter-narratives, who dominate the languages of social networks, and who have had the greatest reach in interacting with non-Indigenous people. A small group of respondents also mentioned the importance of selling Indigenous handicrafts via social networks.

Indigenous activist and communicator Alice Pataxó, who has over 110,000 followers on Twitter and 138,000 on Instagram, was one of the most frequently cited names of digital influencers by engaged and empathetic respondents. @alice_pataxo was also identified as the main profile in the debate on Indigenous peoples on Twitter between January and May 2021 and was among the main ones in the whole period covered by the study, according to the DAPP/FGV survey.

With over 150,000 followers on Instagram, Tukumã Pataxó, a gastronomy student at the Federal University of Bahia, who is also the communication director of the Pataxó Indigenous Youth Association (AJIP) and a contributor to Mídia Índia, was included in the special edition Wired Festival Brasil — A Journey Through Brazilian Creativity in 50 Names. In 2021, Tukumã won the Sim à Igualdade Racial [Yes to Racial Equality] award under the Representativeness in New Formats category.

Along with Célia Xakriabá, a doctoral student in Social Anthropology at UFMG and one of the founders of the National Articulation of Ancestral Indigenous Warrior Women (ANMIGA), Tukumã hosts Globoplay’s first Indigenous podcast, 'Papo de Parente' [Family Chat], described as a podcast aimed to indigenise Brazil.

Many other profiles were mentioned, including that of Daiara Tukano, Cristian Wariu, Sam Sateremawe, Denilson Baniwa, Myrian Krexu, Daniel Munduruku, Kaê Guajajara, Beto Marubo, Julie Dorrico, Katú Mirim, Aislan Pankararu, Dário Yanomami, Gustavo Caboco, Dayana Molina,Francisco Piyãko, and Renata Tupinambá.

In addition to attracting media attention, Indigenous influencers have often been invited to talks on representation, social diversity and environmental protection. They are also being hired by agencies, cited in trend reports, and featured in advertising campaigns, such as the Risqué campaign, with Alice Pataxó, and Ambev's campaign for Ama water, with Tukumã Pataxó.

Tukumã Pataxó joined Anitta and Regina Casé in the casting of Map Brasil, an agency specialized in establishing business and relationships between brands, artists, and entertainment personalities. He is also an institutional partner and spokesperson for Digital Favela, a platform created to bring together influencers from low-income communities across Brazil and advertisers.

Although not mentioned by the interviewees, Cunhaporanga has over 525,000 followers on Instagram, and 6.5 million followers on TikTok. Cunhaporanga, from Amazonas, became a hit on digital networks when she started sharing her daily life in her community — her people's traditions, their language, their territory, their foods, their medicinal plants, and their crafts.

Photo credit: Washington Post

Several respondents, especially civil society and journalists, cited the Copiô, Parente podcast produced by the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) as a reference for Indigenous media. It is the first podcast made for Indigenous peoples in Brazil, and produces a summary of the victories and threats affecting Indigenous peoples and traditional communities in the Legislative, Executive and Judiciary branches of power.

Rádio Yandê and Mídia Índia were cited by a small share of engaged audiences as another significant development in the past decade.

Mídia Índia, featuring young Indigenous people, was founded at Acampamento Terra Livre [Free Land Camp] in 2017 by Erisvan Bone Guajajara, who has a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Maranhão, and provides communication support to the Indigenous Youth Network, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), and the Network of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab). The initiative, which won the 19th edition of the Joan Alsina Human Rights Award in 2020, currently has 165,000 followers on Instagram, 60,000 on Facebook, and 13,000 on Twitter.

Mídia Índia is the webpage with the most publications about the debate on Indigenous peoples on Facebook and Instagram in 2020 and 2021, and the sixth with the most engagement on Instagram in 2020 and 2021, according to the DAPP/FGV survey.

Created in 2013 to disseminate Indigenous culture, Rádio Yandê, whose founders are journalist and curator Renata Tupinambá, artist Denilson Baniwa, and communicator Anápuàka Muniz Tupinambá Hã hã hãe, is the first Indigenous web radio channel in Brazil. In February 2022, Anápuàka, Rádio Yandê coordinator, launched the campaign 'I want Radio Yandê to remain online' to attract financial donations to pay for the maintenance of the radio server and domain in 2022.

There are several other communication collectives emerging and growing in the country, such as Rede Wayuri [Wayuri Network], an initiative involving young people from 10 ethnic groups from Rio Negro, in Amazonas, created five years ago in 2017, and elected by the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as one of the world’s 30 Information Heroes. Another example is Coletivo Audiovisual Munduruku Daje Kapap Eypi [Munduruku Daje Kapap Audio-Visual Collective], formed by Aldira Akai, Beka Saw Munduruku, and Rilcelia Akai, whose short film project 'Autodemarcação e Fiscalização da TI Sawré Muybu' [Self-demarcation and Inspection of the Sawré Muybu Indigenous Land] was one out of seven selected for Climate Story Lab Amazonia in 2021.

Indigenous communicators from Mídia Índia
Photo credit: Mídia Índia

Communicator networks were described as strategies that transcend communication. They are critical to strengthening young people's connections with traditional knowledge and with their land, in addition to offering a source of income.

A minority among engaged respondents shared their views on the use of social networks by Indigenous peoples. “Along with the internet, you get WhatsApp, YouTube, whatever, and then, when you see it, the elders are all forgotten. Young people stop paying attention to them, and they have no-one to talk to. So this form of intergenerational education becomes very fragile.”

Racism also came up as an issue, either because some of the Indigenous influencers produce content precisely to address it, or because of the attacks they suffer for being on social media. “I invite hate researchers to check what is said about Indigenous people in Brazil. They must be, by far, the most hated, the most persecuted on the networks (...) They are bombarded by hate and prejudice--truly bombarded”, said a journalist interviewed.

Despite the evident and growing concern about fake news among interested and engaged respondents, only one of them mentioned that she was starting to develop a media education project for Indigenous peoples.

Internet access limitations in some regions of Brazil were also mentioned, especially by Indigenous respondents.

Interested and non-engaged respondents, such as economists and businesspeople, still have little or no contact with the contents published by Indigenous profiles on social media.

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