From ‘Anízia Maria’ Indigenous Museum to Museum of the Indigenous Peoples of Piauí: Collaborative Museological Processes, Counter-Narratives and Political Protagonism of the Tabajara and Tapuio – Itamaraty/PI

Abstract

On August 30, 2023, the Museum of Indigenous Peoples of Piauí (MUPI) was inaugurated in the community of Nazaré (municipa­lity of Lagoa de São Francisco-PI). The narratives developed by municipal and state media portray the event as the success of an initiative promoted by state institutions aiming to support the political demands of Indigenous people. In reality, MUPI is the result of a set of more complex and articulated processes at local, state, and national levels, with the Tabajara and Tapuio-Itama­raty peoples—residents of the Nazaré community—as its protago­nists and the Indigenous Museum “Anízia Maria” as the privileged instrument for recognizing silenced memories and identities. This article examines key stages of this trajectory from 2016 to the pre­sent, focusing on the most significant events related to the process of identity and political strengthening of the Tabajara and Tapuio peoples, which contributed to the creation of MUPI.