Upload
sergio-caniuqueo
View
220
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
1/13
The transnationalisation ofindigenous peoples movements
and the emergence of newindigenous elites
Sabine Kradolfer
The images that immediately spring to mind when
one approaches the processes of globalisation have
more to do with economic channels, transnational
companies, and the flow of capital, people, goods,
technology, and knowledge than with the issues
surrounding indigenous
peoples.1 Now it should
be noted that the groups
these peoples form
often in remote, periph-
eral regions have also
been affected by globali-sation during the last few
decades. In particular, the
lands and resources they
traditionally owned in
order to survive have been
subjected to increasing
pressure. However, the
principal argument pre-
sented in this article is that indigenous peoples
should not be seen as actors who passively submit to
the effects of globalisation, for they have been ableto draw on their own resources and devise tools to
deal with the pressures they face. They have organ-
ised themselves at international level so that they
can actively pursue their campaigns and fight in
transnational networks and make use of new infor-
mation and communications technologies, which
are themselves products of the late-twentieth
century process of globalisation.
Since the mid-1980s, UN bodies have
increasingly incorporated the indigenous peoples
issue (Schulte-Tenckhoff 1997) into their various
agendas and now, after several decades, indigenous
UN organisations whose work principally concerns
these peoples and show how the category indig-
enous people has been constructed as much by
indigenous organisations as by the international
context. The focus will subsequently shift from
the transnational indigenous
stage to the Mapuche of Argen-
tina in order to examine the way
in which international native
policies have contributed to the
establishment of new Mapuche
organisations, while simultane-ously rearranging the lines of
authority between traditional
chieftainships and new indig-
enous elites. By shifting back and
forth between the international,
national, regional, and local, I
will show how some Mapuche
like other native peoples across
the globe have been able to benefit from globali-
sation by acquiring resources (empowerment) and
adopting a discourse of transnational identitywhich is somewhat ambivalent for, while it is very
(post)modern, it is rooted in tradition and tends to
essentialise ethnic identity.
As Argentina has long been regarded as a
country in which indigenous peoples have been
integrated and assimilated into the general popula-
tion, it may seem paradoxical to focus on the rise
of indigenous movements. But it seems to me that
this phenomenon is of particular interest because
it raises questions concerning the processes
behind the restructuring of ethnic identities. Native
peoples now constitute a much more visible pres-
Sabine Kradolfer is an anthropologist
and sociologist. She is currently an SFNS
postdoctoral fellow at the Autonomous
University of Barcelona and the National
University of Ro Negro (Argentina). Her
doctoral thesis, jointly supervised by theUniversities of Lausanne and Paris III
Sorbonne Nouvelle, dealt with the social
organisation of Mapuche communities in
Neuqun province, Argentina. She was also
joint-leader of a research project on aca-
demic career progression at the University
of Lausanne (20062008).
Email: [email protected]
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
2/13
it was not unusual to hear Argentinians themselves
claim, as did the proprietor of a bed & breakfast in
Buenos Aires, that there are no more Indians in
Argentina. This individual then insisted that if I
wanted to complete my research, I would have to
go to Bolivia or Chile. The indigenous presence inArgentina has acquired a much higher profile since
the year 2000, as demonstrated by an article titled
56% of Argentinians have native ancestors2 pub-
lished in the daily newspaper El Clarn on 16January 2005 (Heguy 2005). More recently, the
indigenous peoples of Argentina organised a march
as part of the 25 May Revolution bicentenary cel-
ebrations. The march terminated at the Plaza de
Mayo, site of the Casa Rosada, the presidentialpalace, on 20 May 2010. Thousands of indigenous
people clad in traditional costume paraded through
the centre of the capital, and their delegations
were received by President Cristina Kirchner. A
large segment of the Argentinas population once
believed that indigenous peoples had vanished
from Argentina, but that belief now appears to have
been firmly extinguished. Moreover, the (re)ap-
pearance of various ethnic groups on the politi-
cal stage in the 1990s, a phenomenon Bengoa
describes as the indigenous emergence (Bengoa
2000), is not restricted to Argentina, and hasoccurred in many countries throughout the world.
In Argentina, some peoples seem to have
been reborn the Huarpe, Ona, and Quilmes, for
example and an increasing number of Mapuche,
who have always been recognised as one of the
countrys largest ethnic groups, are reclaiming their
indigenous past and have achieved a much higher
profile on the national and regional political stages.
While this article concentrates on Neuqun prov-
ince3 in north-west Patagonia, where the Mapuche
have been established since the seventeenth century(Nicoletti and Navarro Floria 2000, p.49), it should
be noted that these populations are also found in
other provinces including Buenos Aires, La Pampa,
Ro Negro, Chubut, and Santa Cruz. The Mapuche
are much more numerous in Chile, where they
have been the focus of a great deal of his-
torical, political, sociological, and anthropological
research. However, they present striking differences
in terms of social and communitarian organisation,
not only between the two countries but also between
the Argentinian provinces in which they currently
reside. As we shall see shortly, such differences are
2005). This brings us to the complexity of Mapuche
ethnic identity which like all other identities
cannot be approached as a unified whole but must
always be reinserted into its context. What consti-
tutes a Mapuche or a Mapuche community will vary
from province to province (each of which hasits own legal framework for defining indigenous
peoples) and the environment in which identity is
expressed: town, rural area, community, indigenous
organisation, etc.
When we approach the transnationalisation
of indigenous movements, we are referring to the
various phenomena which have affected these
peoples, notably the creation of extensive collabo-
rative networks which, thanks to information and
communications technology, are still expanding on
the five continents and are now able to articulate
localised social struggles at international level.
Before using the Mapuche people ofArgentina as an
illustration of how the development of international
legal norms has largely contributed to the reshaping
of organisations and struggles at local level, it is
appropriate to examine the ways in which United
Nations bodies have considered indigenous claims
since the late 1970s. In effect, it was during this
period that issues relating to indigenous peoples
began to assume increasing importance at the UN.The origin of the various mechanisms that
would eventually be implemented was undoubtedly
the Martnez Cobo study (Martnez Cobo 1986).
In 1971, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, a body
set up by the UN Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC), responded to denunciations of human
rights violations by appointing one of its members,
Jos Martnez Cobo, as Special Rapporteur.
Martnez Cobo was asked to conduct an exhaustive
study of the discrimination experienced by theworlds indigenous peoples, with a view to imple-
menting preventive measures. The results of this
research Study of the problem of discriminationagainst indigenous populations was publishedin five volumes between 1981 and 1984 (Martnez
Cobo 1986). Three major international conferences
took place at the UN in Geneva during the course of
the study: the International Non-Governmental
Organisation Conference on Discrimination
Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas
(1977), the World Conference to Combat Racism
and Racial Discrimination (1978), and the Interna-
378 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
3/13
hundred or so native delegates to these conferences
succeeded in securing NGO status (as recognised
by ECOSOC) for their indigenous organisations.
In 1982, the UN institutionalised indigenous
issues by creating a Working Group on Indigenous
Populations (WGIP). This group, which operateduntil 2006, was composed of five independent
experts, indigenous delegates from all five conti-
nents, indigenous and non-indigenous representa-
tives of NGOs, and observers. It was given the task
of examining new data concerning the promotion
and protection of the fundamental rights and
freedoms of native peoples and the development of
norms relating to their rights.4 The WGIP was
regarded as an opportunity for indigenous peoples
to present their situations and expose the human
rights violations to which they were subjected. In
effect, the UNs customary procedures for holding
consultations with states had been shown to be
inefficient, given that they shed little light on the
problems of indigenous populations which were
often embroiled in legal battles with states.
According to Augusto Willemsen-Daz, a Guate-
malan lawyer who helped to create the WGIP when
serving at the UN Centre for Human Rights in
Geneva, the aim of the working group was to
enable indigenous peoples to come and expressthrough their own mouths what they have in their
hearts and heads (Minde 2008, p.72). In 1985, the
WGIP began drafting a Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples, which it submitted to the
Human Rights Commission in 1993. The Commis-
sion created another working group (the Working
Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples), which was tasked with revis-
ing the draft declaration. The text was finally
approved by the UN General Assembly on 13 Sep-
tember 2007 after 22 years of negotiations5 (formore information on this process, see Charters and
Stavenhagen 2009).
Other acts of recognition took place during
this period in various UN bodies. The International
Year of the Worlds Indigenous People (1993) was
followed by the first and second International
Decades of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples (1995
2004 and 20052014, respectively). In 1994, the
UN Assembly General decided that an Inter-
national Day of the Worlds Indigenous People
should be observed on 9 August every year. In
2002, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
presence of indigenous delegations in all these
bodies has increased over the years, and they can
now be found in other international organisa-
tions whose decisions may affect them, including
UNESCO (which in 2001 adopted a Universal
Declaration on Cultural Diversity and proclaimed2010 as the International Year for the Rapproche-
ment of Cultures), the World Intellectual Property
Organisation, some Working Groups within the
Biological Diversity Convention, and the Interna-
tional Fund for Agricultural Development.
On the legal front, the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) Convention 169 for Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples (1989) constituted the first rec-
ognition of indigenous institutions and customs,
the right of such groups to participate in decisions
that affected their economic development, their
rights to property and the ownership of traditional
lands, etc. The application of Convention 169
would enable them to take control of their own
institutions, social organisation, economic devel-
opment, etc., without presenting a challenge to
the sovereignty of the states in which they lived.
However, the fact that only 22 countries have so
far ratified the convention6 clearly shows that
incorporating various specific rights into national
law is problematic; an international convention canremain a dead letter if not fully ratified.
It is clear that their penetration of international
organisations enabled indigenous peoples from dif-
ferent parts of the world to come together and form
a transnational movement which has adopted a
common language in order to extol the universality
of its collective values. Thus a new transnational
category of actors indigenous peoples was
co-constructed as much by indigenous groups as by
international institutions. We shall now turn to the
links between international, national, and regionalpolitical action that enable local native populations
to redefine themselves in their relations with states,
and examine in some detail the case of the Mapuche
of Argentinian Patagonia, specifically those living
in Neuqun province.
The emergence of newindigenous organisationsand elites: the Mapucheof Argentina
Transnationalisation of indigenous peoples movements 379
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
4/13
Argentina and many other countries in the final
25 years of the twentieth century. At local level, a
number of events stimulated the awareness and
claims of Argentinas native populations. With the
return to democracy in 1983 after the dark years
of the military dictatorship installed by GeneralVidela in 1976, many human rights organisations
(the Asamblea Permanente por los DerechosHumano, for example) sprang up and began cam-paigning for the rights of indigenous populations.
Three elements are particularly relevant here:
1. In 1985, federal law 23.302 Indigenous Policy
and Aboriginal Community Support7 (which
would enter into force only after a considerable
delay) provided for a number of measures to
improve the situation of indigenous groups, but
only those which lived in communities. A
community was defined as a group of families
which recognises themselves as such [as a com-
munity], with their own identity, culture and
social organisation, which maintain their tradi-
tional norms, rules and values, which speak or
have spoken their indigenous language, which
share a common habitat on which they are
settled, either together or in a dispersed way8
(Ministerio de Bienestar Social 1988, p.25).2. On 11 August 1994, the adoption of a new con-
stitution completely altered approaches to the
indigenous issue at national level. Prior to that
date, the old 1853/60 constitution had specified
that the National Congress should . . . provide
for the security of the frontiers, maintain peace-
ful relations with the Indians and promote their
conversion to Catholicism (Article 67, para-
graph 15).9 This new constitution stated that
Congress was empowered to Recognise the
ethnic and cultural pre-existence of indigenouspeoples of Argentina. To guarantee respect for
the identity and the right to bilingual and inter-
cultural education; to recognise the legal capac-
ity of their communities, and the community
possession and ownership of the lands they tra-
ditionally occupy; and to regulate the granting
of other lands adequate and sufficient for
human development; none of them shall be
sold, transmitted or subject to liens or attach-
ments. To guarantee their participation in
issues related to their natural resources and
in other interests affecting them. The provinces
3. Finally, on 3 September 2000, Argentina rati-
fied ILO Convention 169, which had been
adopted almost ten years earlier, in 1992.
It is clear that the Argentinian state proposed to deal
exclusively with indigenous communities. In Pat-agonia, these concern descendants of families and
isolated individuals who, having survived the wars
waged by the Argentinian army between 1874 and
1885, regrouped on lands that were in some cases
granted in return for military services (as with the
Curruhuinca, Namuncura, and Painemil communi-
ties), but more generally occupied with or without
permission and tolerated by the federal authorities.
These wars to conquer the free territories of Patago-
nia are known as the Conquista del Desierto11 (Con-quest of the Desert). So great was the fragmentation
of indigenous social, political, and military struc-
tures that some authors do not hesitate to talk of
genocide (see, in particular, Navarro Floria 1999,
pp.104106). Prior to the wars, indigenous peoples
had reigned supreme in the Southern Cone, main-
taining sometimes hostile and sometimes peaceful
relations with the settlers who were populating and
gradually expropriating their lands on both sides of
the Andes cordillera. Trade between these popula-
tions was frequent and the Mapuche controlledlarge herds of cattle, which they grazed on the
Argentinian pampas near the border, in the Bo-Bo
river valley between Chile and the free Mapuche
territories on the western side of the cordillera.They
also maintained huge stocks of salt on the pampas.
There was a great demand for this commodity,
which was used to preserve the meat exported to
Europe. Cattle and salt were traded for industrially
produced goods and certain politico-strategic alli-
ances were formed between the most important
Mapuche lonco,12 first with colonial states and thenwith the Chilean and Argentinian states. At that time
Mapuche social organisation took the form of the lof(community in the Mapuche language), which was
based above all on kinship (the extended family)
and structured through networks of family, eco-
nomic, political, and even military relations, given
the increasing pressure applied by the Argentinian
army. This well organised, hierarchical system was
shattered during the Conquest of the Desert; the
bands of Mapuche which survived the armys
attacks were forced to regroup and resettle on tiny
parts of the territory they had once occupied, sub-
380 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
5/13
Deconstructing rurality and
community through figures
As we have just seen, the Argentinian state
approached the issue of its native peoples only in
terms of communities, whereas a large segment ofthe indigenous population lives on the outskirts of
towns, as is the case in many other Latin American
countries. Moreover, the principal demands would
come from urban indigenous organisations (see
Briones 1999 and Kropff 2005 for the Mapuche
case), which would also produce the most impor-
tant international leaders.13 However, it should be
noted that almost all discourses on these matters,
whether emanating from representatives of the
state or indigenous organisations, refer to rural
communities which are supposed to constitute the
archetype of the only authentic Mapuche way of
life and, consequently, the only one with a specific
legal framework (a point to which we shall return).
Until the present century, the tendency to focus on
the rural setting in relation to the indigenous issue
was linked on the one hand to the absence of sta-
tistical data concerning Argentinas indigenous
populations, and on the other to the fact that the
communities were obviously different in cultural
terms, whereas urban indigenous people weremore similar to the rest of the population.
Following the entry into force of the new
national constitution, the 2001 population census
(see INDEC 2001 for all data from this census)
took ethnic identity and its self-determination into
account by asking if a household contained anyone
who claimed to be descended from or belong to
an indigenous group.14 If so, the respondent was
asked to specify the indigenous group or groups
concerned. As the household-based census could
not be relied upon to identify the number and char-acteristics of people who defined themselves in this
way, the state conducted a complementary survey
(Encuesta complementaria de pueblos indgenas,ECPI) in 2004. The results obtained from this pro-
cedure indicated a far larger indigenous population
and the reappearance of ethnic groups that had
once been regarded as extinct (Ona, Huarpe,
Charra, etc.). At this point, it is important to note
that as part of its non-discrimination policy, the
Argentinian state had decided to omit the ethnic
variable from censuses in the first half of the twen-
tieth century. The only available figures came from
(Ministerio Del Interior 19661968). However,
according to Radovich and Balazote, these figures
were incomplete because the census did not take
into consideration inhabitants scattered across
rural areas, or migrants in the urban environment,
given the utilisation of erroneous methodologicalcriteria which defined the census unit. For this
reason, the total [indigenous] population recorded
in the CIN should be regarded as bearing little
relation to the reality (Radovich and Balazote
1992, p.164).15
The total number of Mapuche residing in the
four Patagonian provinces (Neuqun, Ro Negro,
Santa Cruz, and Chubut), recorded as 24,376 in the
19661968 census (Saugy 19811982, p.25), had
increased to 76,606, of whom 54,444 (71 per cent)
were located in urban areas (localities with more
than 2000 habitants).16 The results were disputed
by indigenous organisations [which] publicly
announced that they regarded the results as invalid,
given the absence of information prior to the
census, the lack of training, on this point, for the
people tasked with conducting it and the non-
participation of first peoples as census agents17
(Golluscio 2006, p.25). The figures therefore
require further upward revision. Communities
account for no more than 60 per cent of the ruralMapuche population (13,195 persons, or 17 per
cent of the total Mapuche population). The remain-
der is formed of small livestock farmers who live in
rural areas but have no official status as communi-
ties. Consequently, these groups, like the urban
Mapuche, derive no benefit from any of the states
measures to improve the situation of indigenous
peoples.
Neuqun province:a specific case
Once the Conquest of the Desert had been
accomplished in 1885, Patagonia and Tierra del
Fuego were directly governed by the national state
until the creation of the Patagonian provinces on 15
June 1955 (law 14.408). This marked the begin-
ning of the provincialisation of the indigenous
issue, for each of the new administrative entities
was endowed with a specific juridical and political
apparatus for handling its relations with native
peoples (Briones 2005). At national level, indig-
Transnationalisation of indigenous peoples movements 381
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
6/13
citizens, but in Neuqun province the Mapuche
presence was acknowledged from the outset. This
is clear from Article 239 (clause d) of the 1957
provincial constitution, which provides for the
maintenance and expansion of indigenous reserva-
tions and concessions; technical and economicassistance in order to promote the education and
training and rational utilisation of the land granted;
and the improvement of living conditions for the
inhabitants18 (Varela 1981, p.96). The provincial
state then devised a specific set of paternalist poli-
cies to further socio-cultural integration, develop-
ment strategies, and assistance measures, policies
which would have a strong impact on the structures
maintained by community-dwelling indigenous
peoples. In 1964, the provincial authorities issued
decree 737 (Reserva de tierras a favor de agrupa-ciones indgenas) which recognised 18 communi-ties (agrupaciones)19 and their receipt of insecurecollective rights to occupy certain areas of land.
Each of these communities took the name of its
chief, i.e. of the person who had negotiated with
the state in order to register the group he repre-
sented. Finally, if the communities fulfilled a
certain number of conditions they would be
allowed to assume full ownership of their lands, a
process which has still not been completed at thetime of writing. The reasons for this early focus on
the Mapuche population relate to the newly created
provinces desire for a distinct identity. Neuqun
wanted to distinguish itself from the national state
and thus integrated the Mapuche into its frame-
work by emphasising the historical influence of
the Mapuche in the formation of regional society
and identity20 (Briones and Daz 1997). The
Mapuche people had been settled for centuries in
the other Patagonian provinces, but it was not until
the 1980s that the province of Ro Negro beganrecognising their communities, while the province
of Chubut took another ten years to begin the
process.
Besides its notable early focus on local
indigenous issues and the emergence of a strong
indigenous movement in the late 1980s, Neuqun
province is a particularly interesting case in other
respects. Following the promulgation of decree
737 in 1964, various legal frameworks were first
of all imposed upon, and then negotiated with
Mapuche communities and organisations. These
organisations were founded by town-based
with other indigenous movements as well as with
NGOs from around the world. By the end of the
1980s, Mapuche activists and the diverse organisa-
tions that supported their claims were forcefully
intervening on the public and political stages and
calling for the return of part of their ancestrallands, recognition of their cultural difference, the
right to bilingual intercultural education, the right
of self-determination, etc. Apart from the creation
of many urban-based organisations, which height-
ened public awareness of a native presence that had
once been relegated to rural areas, it should be
noted that the number of Mapuche communities in
Neuqun province increased from 37 in the mid-
1990s (official statistics published in 1996 by the
Neuqun Department of Indigenous Affairs, DAI))
to 56 (personal communication with Miguel
Antipan, Consejo provincial de educacin, 2005).
How the state defines communities
and the lonco
The modalities of community organisation in the
province of Neuqun vary in accordance with dif-
ferent governments, which may decide to impose
new regulations on communities which seek legalrecognition as such. In 1988, the Department of
Indigenous Affairs (Direccin de asuntos indge-nas) suggested that communities adopt a statustype and become legal persons, a process that
would enable them to assume collective ownership
of the lands they occupied (law 1759). In most
respects, this is the status type that applies to
not-for-profit civil organisations in Argentina,
which are obliged to hold general meetings and
elect a board of directors and an audit committee.
They must also keep a register of the minutes takenat various meetings. Communities were therefore
expected to adapt, at least formally, so that their
traditional political structures and kinship-based
governance conformed to a specific type of asso-
ciation which was quite alien to the indigenous
world and regulated by statutes. The only official
effort to accommodate Mapuche culture in this
arrangement was the utilisation of the term chraunin place of assembly or meeting: vta chraun (vta= large) denotes general meetings and pichi chraun(pichi = small) smaller meetings such as the pichichraun de la comisin directiva y la comisin revi-
382 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
7/13
According to Article 22 of the status type, the
board of directors is composed of six people: a
president (the lonco), a vice-president (the secondlonco or inal lonko), a secretary (werken, theMapuche term for messenger), a treasurer (a role
for which there is no equivalent in the Mapuchelanguage), and two others. The members, like
those of the audit committee, are elected by major-
ity vote at a vta chraun and serve for a renewabletwo-year period. The ballot must be secret (Article
24) but as I have observed, it is conducted, like all
other votes, by a show of hands; a secret ballot is
difficult to implement in populations with high
illiteracy rates. All members of the community
above the age of 18 are entitled to vote and run for
election, which affords women the possibility of
obtaining the highest posts in the community hier-
archies. The political structure of the communities
and the role of the lonco were therefore determinedby the provincial authorities.
Mapuche rights organisations contested the
states imposition of the status type, which
remained for many years the only form of legal
existence and the only means of benefiting from a
number of socio-economic advantages, by drafting
alternative types. These were accepted by the
national authorities (but not by Neuqun province)in 1995, when the community of Kalfvkur
achieved official recognition (Estatuto autnomoKalfvkur). These arrangements, which are still inplace, have led to the recognition of fifteen other
communities in Neuqun province. Such commu-
nities have thus been able to bypass the provincial
authorities and their directives and achieve recog-
nition at national level through more freely chosen
arrangements.21
By imposing the status type on communi-
ties, the provincial authorities demonstrated theneed to negotiate with the Mapuche in order to
ensure that they had similar structures to those of
white society. Now the need to create stratified
structures represented by a single chief and con-
sequently a by single privileged interlocutor had
been evident some years earlier, when the pro-
vincial government authorised, on 6 June 1970,
the creation the Confederacin indgena neuquina(CIN), an umbrella organisation whose name
would be changed to Confederacin mapucheneuquina (CMN) in the 1990s. At a meeting organ-ised by the provincial governor and bishop,22 30
committee. The CIN would be headed by a lonco23
and a committee which would manage communi-
cations with the provincial governor. This executive
body would be elected annually, then every two
years, by the CIN Parliament (Parlamento) which
included the lonco of all the communities in theprovince. The CIN was mainly an arbitration body,
dealing with problems within and between commu-
nities, and an intermediary in Mapuche dealings
with the provincial authorities, especially in
matters concerning the collective ownership of
land. Not content with determining how communi-
ties elected the lonco, the state helped to create anorganisation, the CIN, which was structured as a
hierarchy and headed by a single representative.
But Mapuche society functions on the basis of the
segmentation of power between the different
family heads; the establishment of a single loncofor each community is therefore problematic (Kra-
dolfer 2008). Intra-community arbitration by the
CIN lonco seems totally incompatible withMapuche social organisation. One suspects that in
creating the CIN, the provincial authorities were
thinking more of harmonising Mapuche structures
with the non-Mapuche political system than of pro-
moting organisation and cooperation between com-
munities. However, other Mapuche actors wastedlittle time in penetrating the CINs higher echelons
in order challenge to the provincial government.
Articulation betweenthe base and theorganisations
In addition to the various forms of social and politi-
cal organisation resulting from the different legal
frameworks imposed first by theArgentine state andlater by the provincial authorities, the late 1980s
saw the emergence of new influential figures.24
These were the leaders, individuals who had
worked in the Mapuche rights associations which
had sprung up in towns in response to increasing
demands for human and indigenous rights towards
the end of the twentieth century. Urban associations
brought together young Mapuche whose families
had left the communities in the 1960s and 1970s in
search of a better life on the outskirts of towns.
Some of these organisations were relatively well
connected to international indigenous political
Transnationalisation of indigenous peoples movements 383
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
8/13
category of power holders was gradually installed at
the head of these groups, either by means of
co-option or through elections.25 These individuals
may be regarded as cultural brokers (passeursculturels) (Bierschenk et al. 2000); they were
indigenous but had acquired, either through contactwith the dominant society or by integrating into it as
individuals, the skills needed to negotiate with the
state and international bodies; as a result, they found
themselves positioned between the state and the
communities. From the outset, urban associations in
Neuqun had chosen to work closely with rural
communities,26 which they regarded as the only
repositories of the one true Mapuche way of life.
At the beginning of the 1990s, dissenting voices in
the communities began criticising the CINs will-
ingness to collaborate with the government whereas
urban associations were drawing closer to the
umbrella organisation. Some urban leaders, who
were also members of newly created communities,
gradually stepped up their involvement in CIN
activities and eventually managed to occupy
responsible positions on its committee. It was also
under their influence that the name Confederacinindgena neuquina was changed to Confederacinmapuche neuquina (CMN), the term indgena being
regarded as too pejorative. The year 1992 saw thecreation of a new organisation which federated
urban organisations and the CMN: the Coordina-dora de organizaciones mapuche (COM).27 Severalmembers of urban associations have been elected to
key posts in the COM and are now involved in
steering the activities of the CMN, following a
policy of systematic opposition to the provincial
government that is leading to dissensions and local
conflicts.
Some leaders may be regarded as organic
intellectuals; they have worked towards raisingthe profile of the Mapuche in a country which
considers itself ethnically homogeneous, and have
attempted to reverse the negative stereotypes asso-
ciated with the figure of the Indian. In the 1980s
and even in the early 1990s, Mapuche urban popu-
lations seldom claimed their indigenous identity
and preferred to define themselves as criollas(creoles). But by the 1990s, more and more people
were affirming their indigenous origins. This phe-
nomenon was perhaps also accentuated at local
level by the fact that contrary to their parents
expectations, Mapuche born in towns did not feel
of discrimination in the following terms: Look at
my face, the colour of my skin . . . even if I dye my
hair blonde, Ill always be regarded as a bloo. . .
Indian . . .. Mapuche associations flourish not
only in the provincial capital, Neuqun city, but
also in smaller towns such as Zapala and Junn delos Andes. Some, following the COM line, adopt
very clear-cut political positions in opposition to
the provincial government; others are more con-
cerned with the promotion and diffusion of their
culture (Mapuche language workshops, traditional
weaving classes, revival of certain rituals, etc.).
While most of them still focus on community-
based rural populations, others are currently cam-
paigning for the recognition of urban indigenous
populations. However, as one Mapuche leader
explained, it is still far easier to obtain NGO
funding for community-based projects than for the
deprived Mapuche populations found on the out-
skirts of large towns. Consequently, the perception
that Mapuche culture is confined to rural areas
seems likely to persist for some time.
The new Mapuche leaders
I have taken the term cultural brokers (passeursculturels) from Bierschenk to define Mapucheleaders, as this expression is highly appropriate for
them, for their urban trajectory is similar to that of
other Argentinians. Not only have they received an
education (in some cases to baccalaureate or
degree level or some form of training in university
extension centres), they have also learned how to
operate the machinery of local politics and public
administration. In parallel to these achievements
and their socialising influence (in terms of expo-
sure to broader Argentinian society), they havemaintained contact with their communities and/or
families in rural areas and have been sensitised to
their problems. This dual cultural heritage enables
them to project an indigenous voice at national
level if negotiations with provincial authorities
prove unsatisfactory (the drafting of the Estatutoautnomo Kalfvkur being one example), and atinternational level when it becomes necessary.
When they established contact with the trans-
national indigenous movement, Mapuche leaders
had to adapt their local discourse to the issues and
terminology of global indigenous struggles. It is
384 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
9/13
Mapuche indigenous people or Mapuche
people, a form of international terminology
which states are often unwilling to accept, given
that the idea of a people implies self-
determination. Although the term Indio (Indian) is
highly pejorative and consequently excluded fromthe leaders vocabulary, it is not unusual to hear
Mapuche from the communities who use it when
they talk about themselves, as shown above. I
knew it should not be used and thought the
Mapuche had abandoned it, so I was surprised to
hear it so often during my field studies. When I
asked people why they used it, I received two
types of answer. On the one hand, they told me
that the term was one way of affirming their dif-
ference: I say Indio because that is what I am; itswhat the Huinca28 have always called us. On theother, its utilisation may depend on the context of
the discussion: It can be pejorative, but it depends
how you say it and who says it . . .. When I asked
why they did not prefer the term Mapuche, some
people replied that they were not Mapuche,
because Mapuche, Mapuche . . . are those cheeky
people who appear on television and use our
culture for their own benefit. It is possible that the
use of the term Indio (instead of Mapuche) to refer
to an identity that is felt and affirmed in a positiveway despite the daily experience of marginalisa-
tion and suffering creates a gulf between some
Mapuche and leaders whose campaigns for the
protection of native rights and identity have
endowed them with professional and public status.
It is not unusual to hear Mapuche people
complain that a small group of individuals have
become spokespersons for an entire people. Now it
is precisely the hybrid situation in which leaders
find themselves, their status as experts on indig-
enous issues and as privileged witnesses, thatattracts the attention of journalists and anthropolo-
gists. As they are able to marshal several legal,
anthropological, sociological, political, and other
arguments (which are often shared by indigenous
rights groups in other parts of the world), their
discourses are more easily understood by non-
Mapuche people. This familiarity is linked to their
role, to the need to act on social and political levels
other than those of the communities. Since they are
involved on the transnational stage, their language,
speeches, attitudes, etc., are addressed in particular
to the outside world and will often seem incom-
such as the language (which a large segment of the
Mapuche population no longer speaks), and the
religion (a subject which, usually, is seldom dis-
cussed with the Huinca). They also stress the privi-leged relationship between the Mapuche and
Mother Earth (uke Mapu)29 in romantic termslinked to the environmental discourse that has
become fashionable since the Rio Declaration
(1992), although they have little personal experi-
ence of life in the communities, of raising live-
stock, or farming. Whereas in the communities an
individual acquires authority and the recognition of
his peers through his ability to look after his herd
and manage his domestic group, leaders acquire
status primarily through individual contact with
non-Mapuche society. Their professional special-
isation as activists is equally incomprehensible
to many other Mapuche, who accuse them of
working as Mapuche, given that their incomes
derive from their involvement with their organisa-
tions. From that point of view, anyone can work as
a Mapuche if they choose to adopt a coherent
discourse on Mapuche culture and identity. Now
for many people identity is an internal matter; it
cannot and should not be exhibited publicly. As
Briones has shown, leaders have also attracted
criticism from former allies in marginalised, eco-nomically insecure sectors: the other non-
indigenous components of these populations often
view the particularism of their demands in an
unfavourable light, and participate in hegemonic
interpretations by stigmatising their actions, as
well as those of indigenous activists who they see
as simply exploiting identity in order to profit
from circumstances which everybody finds
difficult30 (Briones 2005, p.15).
Conclusion
It will be clear from the examples discussed above
that neither the current organisation of communi-
ties nor the role and status of the lonco are deter-mined solely by the Mapuche themselves. The
same can be said for urban organisations, which
owe as much to the new opportunities for political
action arising from the international context as
they do to the increasing awareness of new genera-
tions of urban Mapuche and their claim to a spe-
cific identity. Therefore it is no longer possible
to conduct a political anthropology of Mapuche
Transnationalisation of indigenous peoples movements 385
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
10/13
with two relatively distant but inseparable worlds.
As Briones points out, anthropological work with
cultural activists is very different from conducting
field studies in Mapuche communities. Activists in
fact behave differently. They are extremely con-
scious of their engagement in the political strug-gle (Briones 1999, Introduction). It is precisely
through political action that indigenous organisa-
tions have acquired a higher profile in the new
millennium, and are now accepted as interme-
diaries by states, international organisations, and
multinational companies.
Although the multiplication of interventions
from the Mapuche world has not resulted in co-
ordinated strategies, it is reasonable to suggest that
the dispersal of power at different levels in com-
munities and urban associations has enabled them
to mount a strong resistance to the hegemony of the
state by multiplying their levels of action. The
processes of indigenous resistance bring to mind
the conclusions drawn by Ferguson and Gupta
(2002), which show that the various levels, the
local, the national and the international, are nolonger embedded in each other. On the one hand,
as we have seen with ILO Convention 169, states
can evade non-binding decisions taken at inter-
national level. On the other, social networks
can (re)articulate the relations between local and
international actors, whether governmental or
non-governmental. Thus local organisations and
communities can enlist the aid of international
networks which will support their struggles and
help them to exert pressure on the provinces or
states in which they are based.
Notes
1. While I tend to favour indig-
enous, the term officially used in
international organisations, I will
sometimes use native as a sub-
stantive or adjective for rhetoricalor stylistic reasons. The terms canbe taken as synonymous for the
purposes of this paper.
2. El 56% de los argentinos tiene
antepasados indgenas.
3. Between December 1994 andApril 1998, I conducted approxi-
mately 30 months of field study in
this province. The research was
partly funded by a doctoral bursary
from the Swiss National ScienceFoundation (SNSF), and I made
regular visits in order to pursue myobservations in a diachronic per-
spective. The present article forms
part of Indigenous Claims and
Affirmations of Identity in Latin
America: How Respect for Differ-
ence Engenders Differences, thepost-doctoral research project (also
funded by SNSF) I am conducting
at the Autonomous University of
Barcelona and the National Univer-sity of Ro Negro (Argentina).
at the UN between 1985 and 1995,
see Schulte-Tenckhoff (1997).
5. The impact of this document on
the indigenous issue in variouscountries predates its acceptance by
the Assembly General, for elementsof the draft declaration had already
influenced certain legal texts in the
late 1990s, especially in Latin
America.
6. http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/
ratifce.pl?C169 [accessed 10 June
2011].
7. Ley 23.302 sobre poltica ind-
gena y apoyo a las comunidadesaborgenes.
8. al conjunto de familias que se
reconozca como tal, con identidad,
cultura y organizacin social
propias, que conserven normas,
pautas y valores de tradicin, que
hablen o hayan hablado una lenguaautctona que conviven en un
hbitat comn, en asentamientos
nucleados o dispersos.
9. proveer a la seguridad de las
fronteras, conservar el trato pac-
10. Art 75: Corresponde al
Congreso: . . . 17. Reconocer la
preexistencia tnica y cultural de
los pueblos indgenas argentinos;
garantizar el respeto a su identidady el derecho a una educacin bil-inge e intercultural; reconocer la
personera jurdica de sus comuni-
dades y la posesin y propiedad
comunitaria de las tierras que tradi-
cionalmente ocupan, regulando la
entrega de otras aptas y suficientespara el desarrollo humano; ninguna
de ellas ser enajenable, transmis-
ible ni susceptible de gravmenes o
embargos. Asegurar su partici-
pacin en la gestin referida a susrecursos naturales y a los demsintereses que los afectan. Las pro-
vincias pueden ejercer concurrente-
mente estas atribuciones.
11. The Mapuche refer to this
epoch as Epoca de la Perdicin(the Epoch of Ruin) or simply laPerdicin since the territoriesinvaded by Argentinian armies
were neither uninhabited nor arid,as the term desert implies. For
more information on the authori-ties use of this term in relation to
territories with no white popula-
386 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
11/13
12. The term lonco, which literallymeans head, refers to the chiefsof the communities. Historically,
only males could hold this post, but
since the Argentinian authorities
changed the lonco election methodseveral women have assumed the
position.
13. In order to distinguish between
officials of Mapuche organisations
and community heads, I will refer
to the former as leaders and the
latter as lonco.
14. Existe en este hogar alguna
persona que se reconozca descendi-
ente o perteneciente a un pueblo
indgena?
15. Debido a errneos criterios
metodolgicos utilizados para
definir la unidad censal, dej sin
registrar a pobladores rurales dis-
persos como as tambin a losmigrantes en el medio urbano.
Debido a ello el total poblacional
registrado en el CIN debe
considerarse bastante alejado de
la realidad.
16. Something similar occurred inChile in 1992. The results of this
population survey showed that
almost 10 per cent of the popula-
tion above the age of 14 identified
themselves as Mapuche, a totalof just under one million people.
Eighty per cent of this population
lived in towns, and especially in
the metropolitan region (IEI/
UFRO-INE 1998, p.7).
17. las organizaciones indgenas
han expresado pblicamente quedesconocen la validez de sus
resultados por la ausencia de
difusin previa al censo, la falta de
formacin de los encargados de
realizarlo respecto de ese punto yla no participacin de los miembros
de los pueblos originarios como
agentes censistas.
18. Sern mantenidas y an
ampliadas las reservas y conc-
esiones indgenas. Se prestarayuda tcnica y econmica a estas
agrupaciones propendiendo de su
capacitacin y la utilizacin
racional de las tierras concedidas,
mejorando las condiciones de vida
de sus habitantes.
19. The number of officially recog-
nised communities would increaseand have their existence ratified by
later decrees (977/66, 1039/72,
1588/86, etc.).
20. [el] peso histrico de lo
Mapuche en la conformacin de lasociedad e identidad regionales.
21. For a detailed study of this
document, see Briones (1999)
and Falaschi (dir.) (1996).
22. This link between state and
ecclesiastical leaders exemplifiesthe historical special relationshipbetween state and church in Latin
America.
23. As yet, no woman has occu-
pied this post.
24. During the military dictator-
ship (19761983), the most radical
indigenous organisations weredismantled and their leaders
persecuted.
25. The criteria for becoming
leaders of these organisations are
not always clear. The fact that the
same people have occupied the
summit of these hierarchies formore than ten years has sometimes
prompted allegations of nepotism
from their members.
26. In the neighbouring province
of Ro Negro, the Mapuche move-
ment (Consejo asesor indgena)decided to focus on campaigns
against the exploitation of indig-enous small-scale stockbreeders
and formed an alliance with organi-
sations fighting for the rights of
small producers. It therefore
adopted a policy based on class
rather than ethnic difference.
27. The emergence, development,
and integration into the CMN ofurban organisations are described
in detail in Briones (1999,
chapter 2).
28. White people; people other
than Mapuche. This term, which is
also a synonym of thieves, can
also be offensive.
29. Mapu means earth and chemeans people. The Mapuche are
thus the People of the Earth.
30. los restantes componentes no
indgenas de estas poblacionesmuchas veces recepcion[a]n desfa-
vorablemente la particularidad
de sus reclamos, concurriendo con
interpretaciones hegemnicas
que estigmatizan las demandas y
demandantes indgenas como
encarnacin de meras instrumental-
izaciones identitarias para sacarprovecho de circunstancias
difciles para todos.
References
Bengoa, J., 2000. La emergenciaindgena en Amrica Latina. Santiago
de Chile: Fondo de culturaeconmica.
Courtiers en dveloppement. Les vil-lages africains en qute de projets.
Paris: APAD and Karthala.
Briones, C., 1999. Weaving the
philosophy and leadership. Michigan:Ann Arbor/University Microfilms
International.
Briones, C., 2005. Formaciones de
Transnationalisation of indigenous peoples movements 387
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
12/13
In: C. Briones, ed. Cartografasargentinas: polticas indgenas y for-maciones provinciales de alteridad.Buenos Aires: Antropofagia, 1143.
Briones, C. and Daz, R., 1997.
La nacionalizacin/provincializacindel desierto. Procesos de fijacin de
fronteras y de constitucin de otros
internos en el Neuqun, V Congresode Antropologa Social, JulyAugust1997, Argentina, La Plata. [online]
Available at: http://www.naya.org.ar/
congresos/contenido/laplata/LP5/
10.htm [accessed 1 June 2010].
Charters, C. and Stavenhagen,
R. (eds)., 2009. Making the declara-tion work: the united nations decla-
ration on the rights of indigenouspeoples. Copenhagen: IWGIA.
Delro, W., 2005. Memorias deexpropiacin: sometimiento e incor-poracin indgena en la Patagonia(18721943). Bernal: UniversidadNacional de Quilmes.
Falaschi, C. (dir.), 1996. Proyectoespecial de investigacin y extensinUNC-APDH Defensa y reivindi-cacin de tierras indgenas. Informefinal. Neuqun: Universidad del
Comahue.
Ferguson, J. and Gupta, A., 2002.
Spatializing states: toward an eth-
nography of neoliberal governmental-
ity, American Ethnologist, 29 (4),9811002.
Golluscio, L., 2006. El pueblomapuche: poticas de pertenencia ydevenir. Buenos Aires: Biblios.
Heguy, S., 2005. Estudio de exper-
tos de la UBA. El 56% de los Argen-
tinos tiene antepasados indgenas,Clarn, 16 January 2005, BuenosAires.
IEI/UFRO-INE (Instituto de Estu-
dios Indgenas de la Universidad
de La Frontera e Instituto
Nacional de Estadstica), 1998.
XVI Censo nacional de poblacin1992: poblacin Mapuche, tabula-ciones especiales. Chile: Temuco.
INDEC (Instituto Nacional de
Estadstica y Censos), 2001.Encuesta complementaria de pueblosindgenas (ECPI) 20042005, com-plementaria del Censo nacional depoblacin, hogares y viviendas 2001.Buenos Aires: INDEC. [online]
Available at: www.indec.mecon.gov.
ar/webcenso/ECPI/index_ecpi.asp
[accessed 1 June 2010]
Kradolfer, S., 2008. Rsister dans
la division. Articulations et dsarticu-
lations du pouvoir chez les Mapuche
de Neuqun (Argentine), Tsantsa,13, 8088.
Kradolfer, S. and Navarro
Floria, P., 2006. De la difficult
dentendre la voix de lAutre quand
elle remet en question un hros
national, Carnets-de-bord, 12,5766.
Kropff, L., 2005. Activismo
mapuche en Argentina: trayectoria
histrica y nuevas propuestas. In: P.
Dvalos, ed. Pueblos indgenas,estado y democracia. Buenos Aires:Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias
Sociales (CLACSO), 103132.
Martnez Cobo, J., 1986. Study ofthe problem of discrimination againstindigenous populations. Geneva andNew York: UNO. [online] Available
at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/
unpfii/en/spdaip.html [accessed 1
June 2010]
Minde, H., 2008. The destinationand the journey: indigenous peoples
and the United Nations from the
1960s through 1985. In: H. Minde,ed., Indigenous peoples: self-determination, knowledge, indigene-ity. Delft: Eburon, 4986.
Ministerio de Bienestar Social
[Ministry of Social Welfare]
(Provincia del Neuqun), 1988.
Agrupaciones indgenas de la provin-cia del Neuqun. Caracterizacin.Neuqun: Subsecretaria de Accin
Social y Asuntos Indgenas.
Ministerio del Interior (Rep-
blica Argentina) [Ministry of
the Interior], 196668. Censo ind-gena nacional (CIN). Buenos Aires.
Navarro Floria, P., 1999. Historiade la Patagonia. Buenos Aires:Ciudad Argentina.
Nicoletti, M. A. and Navarro
Floria, P., 2000. Confluencias. Unabreve historia del Neuqun. BuenosAires: Dunken.
Radovich, J. C. and Balazote, A.,
1992. El pueblo mapuche en la
actualidad. In: J. C. Radovich andA. Balazote, eds. La problemticaindgena. Buenos Aires: CentroEditor de Amrica Latina, 159186.
Saugy, C., 19811982. Los
Mapuche argentinos en la actuali-
dad. In: Cultura mapuche en laArgentina, Ministerio de Cultura yEducacin, Buenos Aires: Instituto
Nacional de Antropologa, 2538.
Schulte-Tenckhoff, I., 1997. Laquestion des peuples autochtones.Brussels and Paris: Bruylant et
Librairie Gnrale de Droit et de
Jurisprudence.
Varela, G., 1981. El acceso de las
tribus indgenas del Neuqun a latierra pblica. In: Neuqun. Laocupacin de la tierra pblica en elDepartamento Confluencia despusde la Campaa al Desierto (18801930). Neuqun: UniversidadNacional del Comahue, 89102.
388 Sabine Kradolfer
7/28/2019 66481255 elite indgena mapuche
13/13
Copyright of International Social Science Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.