Indigenous Social Media Influencers on Instagram: Personal Narratives and Social Movements in Brazil

This presentation analyzes the presence of personal narratives among indigenous social media influencers in the context of the Brazilian indigenous social movement. To begin, preliminary research and content analysis of the twenty most-followed Brazilian indigenous influencers on Instagram was conducted, where a significant amount of personal narratives was observed. This content analysis was part of my doctoral thesis, defended in January 2024, which focused on Brazil's indigenous social movement from a broader perspective. However, the personal narratives’ aspects of digital activism from the thesis were not sufficiently explored until more recently. In these narratives, indigenous individuals (mostly young adults) have the opportunity to explore and share their unique points of view and fuel new forms of participation in the political discussion regarding the indigenous social movement in Brazil. Personal narratives are particularly significant in this context because they have the potential to humanize marginalized indigenous communities online, fostering empathy and connection with a broader audience (both indigenous and non-indigenous). For this discussion, we will work with posts publicly shared on Instagram by three young social media influencers and indigenous activists: Kauri Waiãpi (@daldeiaorei), Tukumã Pataxó (@tukuma_pataxo), and Alice Pataxó (@alice_pataxo). Our goal is to bring a fresh perspective on digital activism, where social media influencers choose to combat racism and misinformation about indigenous peoples by exploring strategies for humanizing their online presence and personalizing their narratives, opening up aspects of their personal lives and routines. In the theoretical framework, we will work with the concepts of alter-activism (Pleyers, 2009), alongside Baniwa (2009) for the contextualization of the indigenous social movement in Brazil, and Rios & Silva’s (2023) work to explore the relations between personal narratives and digital activism in the indigenous social movement.