Identidade e fortalecimento cultural: a percepção de estudantes e lideranças indígenas sobre a fotografia

Abstract

This study analyzes photography as a potential mechanism of resistance for the maintenance, preservation, and cultural strengthening of Indigenous communities, functioning as a tool for the valorization of their identity, with their ancestral knowledge, customs, and traditions. The research is grounded in the understanding that, throughout history, Indigenous peoples have faced processes of colonization, exploitation, and cultural erasure, resulting in the significant loss of elements of their traditions and identity. This context highlights the urgent need for actions aimed at the empowerment of Indigenous peoples. Within this framework, this research emphasizes photography as an essential resource for the safeguarding and revitalization of memories, narratives, and cultural identities. The proposed approach aims to investigate how photography, beyond merely capturing, recording, and transmitting aspects of daily life, rituals, practices, and Indigenous knowledge systems, can contribute to the safeguarding of endangered cultural heritage. Thus, rather than serving solely as a visual record, photography is presented as a means of communication and expression that enables and encourages Indigenous peoples themselves to assume protagonism in narrating their own histories. This perspective challenges conventional viewpoints that frequently impose external perspectives and opens space for a more authentic and collaborative cultural construction. Moreover, the research adopts as its main reflective axis the role of photography as a vehicle for fostering social and political awareness among Indigenous peoples. To this end, the bibliographic and documentary components of the study were structured around identifying, in the writings of Indigenous authors, indigenists, and educators, elements that compose a critical and informed perspective on Brazilian Indigenous culture. These elements are combined with an investigation on how students – particularly those in higher education and Indigenous leaders – perceive photography and its possible use as a tool for memory and identity safeguarding. Together, these analyses support the idea that photography can be employed as a mechanism of struggle for the maintenance, preservation, and cultural strengthening of Indigenous communities. From a methodological perspective, this is a bibliographic and literature study with both qualitative and quantitative approaches, which involved applying semi-structured questionnaires to Indigenous students and leaders who participated in the 12th National Meeting of Indigenous Students (ENEI), held in Manaus in 2025. The data were analyzed from an interpretivist perspective, articulating cultural, educational, and identity-related dimensions associated with the use of photography. As a result of this reflection, the dissertation contributes to enriching the debate on the relevance of valuing and protecting Indigenous cultures, using photography as a bridge between past, present, and future. The research also emphasizes the importance of images as stimuli for critical reflection and for fostering more respectful and inclusive dialogue among diverse cultures, while giving visibility to projects developed by Indigenous youth through the use of technological resources. Finally, it highlights that the use of photography within the school context xiii favors the articulation between traditional knowledge and formal school-based knowledge.