ABSTRACT
Based on documentary sources, mainly legal documentation, this article analyzes recent developments in the demarcation procedure of the Tapeba Indigenous Land, in Caucaia, Fortaleza (CE), especially the judicial agreement celebrated between the Tapeba Indians, representatives of the Arruda family, State Government, Municipality, National Foundation of the Indian (Funai) and Ministry of Justice, in order to overcome a judicial impasse that hindered the procedure. The Tapeba present themselves as protagonists of the agreement, although one can understand that they were forced to allow to a way to demarcate their land that until now proved ineffective. Appealing to the notion of vulnerability and to the critical literature on alternative dispute resolution, the article shows how public agencies assume the attribution of representing the general interest and the ideal of democracy, while simultaneously aiming to control the situation, in what one can understand as forms of coercive harmony and guided self-determination.
Keywords:
demarcation of indigenous lands; Tapeba; guided self-determination