COLLECTIVE MEMORY, TRAUMA, AND SUICIDE IN INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

Abstract

Indigenous suicide in Brazil is a complex phenomenon whose understanding transcends individualistic or biomedical explanations. This article presents an integrative review that analyzes how the collective memory of the historical trauma of deterritorialization contributes to the production of contemporary indigenous suffering. The search was conducted in the SciELO, LILACS, BVS, and BDTD databases between 2020 and 2025. The results indicate that indigenous suicide is deeply related to colonial violence, territorial rupture, and the weakening of community networks. Deterritorialization affects spiritual, cosmological, and identity dimensions, causing discontinuities in collective life and intensifying feelings of helplessness among young people. The collective memory of massacres, expulsions, and state abandonment, when not processed, transforms into historical trauma, permeating narratives, affections, and forms of belonging. On the other hand, processes of territorial reclamation and cultural reaffirmation demonstrate the potential to resignify traumatic memories and strengthen community resistance. It is concluded that policies for preventing indigenous suicide should integrate mental health actions with territorial guarantees, cultural strengthening, and recognition of the autonomy of indigenous peoples. This article was written as a requirement for the Memory, Identity and Heritage course in the postgraduate program at the State University of Western Paraná.