The Place of the indigenous in the “Brazilian Literature”: how should we start the inclusion?

Abstract

Rethinking Brazilian literature, inserting the production of the Indian in the list of canonized texts, implies not accepting that, in fact, what we have in Brazil is nothing more than Lusophone literature. In extolling indigenous literature, it is not intended to give a value just to compensate for a feeling of debt, but to give visibility to something that has existed for a long time even before the arrival of writing to the territory of what is now called Brasil2. O exercise to be done is to value indigenous literature, whether oral or written, in native language or Portuguese, as unique aesthetic and cultural objects, realizing what this literature has to be specific and universal at the same time. also indigenous people agree that if writing is essential it should be a resource, as long as that they get a space: “the Indian speaks, the Indian thinks. So, let's move on to writing, so that society can better understand the indigenous people3”.