Ailton Krenak Joins Brazil's Literary Elite

Writer and activist Ailton Krenak became the first Indigenous person inducted into the Brazilian Academy of Letters, as dancers in feather headdresses shook up the staid proceedings of the country's leading literary institution.

Wearing an Indigenous bead bandana along with the traditional gold-embroidered suit of the Academy's members, Krenak joked about his "distinguished new outfit" and feeling a bit out of place in the predominantly white institution.

Krenak, 70, is known for an acclaimed body of work criticizing the excesses of colonialism and capitalism, including the essay collection "Ideas to Postpone the End of the World", which has been translated into more than 10 languages.

He is the first member of Brazil's more than 300 Indigenous peoples to be inducted into the Academy, the rough equivalent of France's revered Academie Francaise or Spain's Real Academia.

Seen as a standard-bearer of Brazilian language and literature, the Rio de Janeiro-based institution has 40 members, known as the "immortals," who hold their seats for life.

Krenak, a writer, journalist, poet, philosopher, activist and environmentalist, was elected in October with 23 of 39 votes to the seat left by deceased historian Jose Murilo de Carvalho.

The Academy, which has at times faced accusations of racism, has gradually begun reflecting Brazil's diversity in recent years.

In 2022, it inducted singer-songwriter and former culture minister Gilberto Gil.

Krenak has vowed to use his seat to help shine a light on Brazil's nearly 200 Indigenous languages.

Retracing five centuries of Indigenous suffering in his speech, he questioned gestures such as the apology issued by Brazil's human-rights ministry -- the first of its kind from the government -- for the persecution of the country's native peoples.

He also criticized the destruction of the environment by humankind, urging people to rethink our relationship with nature.