The present paper regards issues on history, law, economy, anthropology, sociology, politics, concerning minorities, pointing out some significant cornerstones of the Brazilian indigenist policies in the decade of 1980. With respect to the human rights applied to minorities, if previously their fulcrum was the protection of those rights, today their regulation and juridical warranty are demanded, fomenting a realignment of these relationships. That was a great contribution of the Constitution of 1988 in what regards the indigenous communities that inhabit Brazilian national territory.
minorities; indigenous peoples; constitutional rights; human rights; laws