Paper short abstract:

In this paper we seek to understand the growth process of the self-declared indigenous population in Brazil and its relation to the increase of the brazilian population in urban areas. To do so, we will examine the profile of these populations in the cities of São Paulo and São Gabriel da Cachoeira, which have the largest absolute number of indigenous people in urban areas according to the last 2010 Census.

Paper long abstract:

The self-declared indigenous population in Brazil is of 817,963 people, according to the Brazilian 2010 Census. In 2000, this population totaled 734,127, which within South America, corresponds to 4,16%. It is interesting to note that the average annual rate of the indigenous population growth between 1990 and 2000 was 10,8%, while the population in the whole country grew about 1,6% per year. Between 2000 and 2010 the indigenous population continues to grow, but at a much slower rate of 1,1% per year, while the whole country grew 1,2% per year. Many reasons can explain the expressive growth that occurred in this period: i) changes in the race/color question in the Brazilian Census; and ii) favorable conditions for the self-declaration as indigenous, mainly because of the recognition of rights by race / color. It is also important to emphasize that during this period Brazilian urbanization was also growing, as were as the number of indigenous people living in urban areas. What remains to be understood is the profile of the indigenous population in urban areas, both through the studied period (1991, 2000 and 2010), and the cities that this population lives. For that, we will use data of the Brazilian Census of 1991, 2000 and 2010 analyzing the brazilian cities that have the biggest number of self-declared indigenous people in urban areas: São Gabriel da Cachoeira and São Paulo. Finally, in this paper we will investigate, through the years, the characteristics of the self-declared indigenous population in Brazil and their relation with urban areas.