The Song of the Birds

Propositions on Indigenous Intellectuality

Abstract

This article discusses multiple conceptions of Indigenous intellectuality, problematizing the limits of classical and critical definitions within Western thought while proposing new horizons of interpretation. Drawing on the metaphor of the song of birds as a symbolic expression of Indigenous knowledge, the reflection seeks to challenge the stereotypes that have historically rendered Indigenous peoples invisible as producers of knowledge. The category of the “shaman-scientist” is presented as an interpretive key that disrupts the dichotomy between tradition and science, demonstrating that Indigenous intellectual production articulates ancestry, spirituality, and contemporary practices of resistance and creation. The study adopts a qualitative approach, grounded in critical literature review, engaging with classical authors, decolonial thinkers, and Indigenous intellectuals. The analysis shows that Indigenous intellectuality not only resists colonial structures but also proposes other, situated, and plural epistemologies, capable of transforming the conceptual frameworks of both science and society.