Geoespatial data of indigenous lands and villages for the demographic Census 2020 in Brazil

Abstract

The information about indigenous population (how many indigenous, where they live and which ethnic group they belong to) are extremely important to secure citizenship in a state whose diversity is a constitutional principle. This article discusses the methodology used for the official quantification of the indigenous population in Brazil: how it has been done throughout history, how and when it was standardized, how it is done today and what are the prospects for the future. The role of IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), which, since its creation in 1936, is the federal institution responsible for conducting this survey, is also discussed in the context, exposing advances in the methodology as well as in the systems and inputs used for the registration of indigenous lands and villages (which are the main way to identify this population). With this advancement, it was possible to identify new indigenous villages through the geocoding of statistical data, considering that the identification of indigenous villages and lands allows a differentiated data collection increasing the possibilities of more qualified analysis (as well as reveals a little more the indigenous cultural aspects). Despite the progress made, there are still many possibilities for improving this methodology.