All day April 19th is celebrated in Brazil and in several other countries of the American continent the MorningofIndian or the Indigenous Peoples Day. There is another date destined for the same purpose, but at the international level, which was conventionally determined by the UN in 1995: it is the 9th of August. However, this text aims to clarify the reasons for choosing the day April 19th like Indian Day.
Also access: August 9 - International Day of Indigenous Peoples
Why is April 19th Indian Day?
April 19 refers to the day when indigenous delegates, representatives of various ethnic groups from countries such as Chile and Mexico, met, in 1940, at the FirstCongressIndigenistInteramerican. This meeting had the purpose of discussing various agendas regarding the situation of indigenous peoples after centuries of colonization and the construction of Nation States in the Americas.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a great interest in these ethnic groups, especially with the development of
ethnology, that is, the branch of anthropology dedicated to the studies of the so-called “primitive cultures”. The effort to understand the habits and importance of indigenous peoples for history awakened the attention also to the scope of public policies aimed at safeguarding these habits and mores.The First Inter-American Indigenous Congress served as a programmatic agenda for these public policies. One of the decisions taken was the choice of the day on which the congress took place as the Day of the Indian. From the following year, several countries on the American continent began to include in their calendars the 19th of April as a day of homage to native or indigenous peoples.
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Why celebrate the Indian Day?
THE Indian Day celebration Its purpose is also the preservation of memory and critical reflection in universities, schools and other similar institutions on the past relationship of domination and conquest of European civilizations on the continent American.
Institution of the Day of the Indian in Brazil
In the case of Brazil, the Indian Day was instituted via decree-law, in 1943, by the then president GetulioVargas, who exercised power authoritatively in the so-called stateNew. See the text of the decree-law:
“THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, using the powers conferred on him by Article 180 of the Constitution, and bearing in mind that the First Congress Inter-American Indigenist, meeting in Mexico in 1940, proposed to the countries of America the adoption of the date of April 19 for the "Day of the Indian",
RULES:
Art. 1st It is considered - "Indian Day" - the date of April 19th.
Art. 2º The contrary dispositions are revoked.Rio de Janeiro, June 2, 1943, 122nd of Independence and 55th of Republic.”
GETULIO VARGAS
Also read about:Demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil
It can be seen that Vargas, as well as his body of ministers, was directly guided by the resolution of the Inter-American Indigenous Congress. There was also, in the context of the Estado Novo, the strong influence of sertanistas and scholars of indigenous communities, such as the marshalCandidRondon, who was also an enthusiast of Getúlio's government.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FERNANDES, Claudio. "April 19 — Indian Day"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/19-abril-dia-Indio.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
