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Paper Short Abstract:

This paper will analyse how indigenous men can get trapped by bureaucratic procedures. The manipulation of the set of practices this establishes, along with the precarious social situation and the necessity of the Army for soldiers, enables a specific militarised citizenship regime.

Paper Abstract:

In this exploration of military imaginaries in Brazil, the distinctions between citizen and civilian become blurred within the context of mandatory military service and conscription. While citizens traditionally obtain official documents to exercise their social and political rights, this paper delves into the unique scenario where the military provides a crucial document for male subjects. Military conscription documents are, in many circumstances, definitive for male access to what the State has to offer. Focusing on a Northwestern Amazonian city through 12 months of participant observation, I examine how the Brazilian army strategically exploits bureaucratic intricacies, ensnaring male indigenous individuals in a systematic sinkhole to mould them into (possible) recruits.

The paper seeks to explore the social life of these government documents in the lives of indigenous men. These documents/ papers that are, on the one hand, mandated by the military create barriers rather than facilitating indigenous individuals' lives. Drawing on encounters and narratives, I shed light on the circumstances leading indigenous men to fulfil military service obligations, even when not expected to. I argue that within the broader framework of military service and, more specifically, among indigenous men in Amazonian contexts, citizenship is validated only through a ritualistic process of becoming lost, found, drafted, or released from military obligations. This paper thus illuminates the intricate interplay between bureaucratic processes, military structures, and indigenous identities, contributing to a nuanced understanding of citizenship within the Brazilian military landscape.