AHRC funded Project: “Challenges and Risks Faced by Indigenous Peoples in Today’s Brazil: Unpacking Vulnerability and Multiple Reactions“
Following the original research plan, the activities of the project started in February 2020 with a meeting of the research team at Unicamp (Brazil) and an additional (virtual) meeting of the Steering Group in April.
Unfortunately, despite all the enthusiasm of the research team and the initial contacts with partners in the three study areas, the project was directly affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. It became impossible to conduct the prospective visits to partner indigenous communities, as scheduled for April. Fieldwork had to be interrupted and are going to be resumed as soon as possible. It should be noted that the risks to the health of indigenous communities is considerable and the research team will take all necessary measures to protect researchers and collaborators.
At the same time, it was possible to maintain all desk-based research activities, especially the launch of the research website and the media analysis carried out in collaboration with Latin America Bureau (LAB) and led by Tom Gatehouse. The work included the systematic analysis of articles in the main national and selected regional newspapers. The results are now being analysed and a summary will be available in an interactive database available on the website.
In order to compensate for the temporary impossibility to carry out fieldwork, the timetable of the project was amended and will include an assessment of the impacts of Covid-19 on indigenous communities in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Amazonas. The work will comprise remote interviews and a dedicated media analysis.
