Rafael Xucuru-Kariri  (Carlos Rafael da Silva) belongs to the Xucuru-Kariri Indigenous nation. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). His research examines the political thought of Indigenous peoples, with a focus on public letters written by these communities, and investigates the concepts and interpretations of living and dying as an Indigenous person in contemporary states. He is the recipient of the 2024 CAPES Award for the Best Doctoral Thesis in Sociology, as well as the Lélia Gonzalez Grand Prize, a CAPES distinction for the best thesis in the Humanities.

Research

• Indigenous Peoples’ Political Thought
• Indigenous Histories and Epistemologies
• Sociology of Knowledge and Power

Rafael researches the political thought of Indigenous communities, focusing on public letters composed by these groups. His work examines how Indigenous peoples articulate conceptions of life, death, sovereignty, belonging, and justice within the constraints of contemporary nation-states. Combining political and historical approaches, his research identifies Indigenous letters preserved in European and Brazilian archives and analyzes how these communities define, advocate for, and struggle to achieve justice across diverse temporalities.

Public engagement and expertise

• Social Policy Analyst at the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, focusing on social policies that impact economic, gender, and racial inequalities.
• Researcher for the project The Letters of Indigenous Peoples to Brazil, coordinated by Professor Dr. Suzane Costa (UFBA), which publishes and analyzes hundreds of letters written by Indigenous peoples throughout their history.