Lived experience, territory, and resistance:

territorial mediation protocols and participatory action research in the Tururukari-Uka indigenous community (Amazonas, Brazil)

Abstract

Relations between researchers, institutions, and Indigenous communities pose challenges to the construction of knowledge and to intervention processes that are sensitive to sociocultural specificities, different knowledge systems, and power asymmetries. This article aims to propose a methodological framework to guide territorial mediation processes with Indigenous communities in the Western Amazon, grounded in Participatory Action Research (PAR). The qualitative and participatory research was conducted with the Tururukari-Uka community of the Omágua/Kambeba people, in Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil. The empirical research comprised two in-person visits and one online activity, involving approximately 30 participants, including community leaders, a pajé (Indigenous spiritual leader), an Indigenous teacher, young people, and other community members. Data collection involved interviews, collective conversations, active listening, observation, and territorial reconnaissance, complemented by audio recordings, photographic records, and field notes. All activities were discussed beforehand and conducted with the community’s consent, incorporating validation and feedback into the research process. The results demonstrate that territorial mediation constitutes a relational and situated process of building interfaces among subjects, institutions, knowledge systems, and projects. The experience enabled the systematization of a protocol structured around territorial engagement, listening, intercultural dialogue, recognition of Indigenous knowledge, negotiation, participation in decision-making, and cycles of reflection–action–reflection. The study concludes that articulating territorial mediation with PAR contributes to less hierarchical research and intervention processes. Its main contribution is an open and adaptive protocol designed to build research with territorial actors while recognizing their autonomy, agency, and participation in knowledge production.