Abstract
This paper examines some of the implications of a process of rapprochement between the Kalapalo and the “world of white people,” focusing mainly on the construction of a road connecting the Aiha village (on the right bank of the Culuene River) with the municipality of Querência, Mato Grosso, and the creation of an internet connection point in the same village. Both processes are directly related to the growing flow of money into the village, mainly through social security policies (pensions) and cash transfer programs, and have significantly transformed daily life in the village since mid-2018. We suggest that these elements (money, the road, and the internet) allow the Kalapalo to create and establish new spatiotemporal connections, bringing together territories and previously disconnected people. While this can offer chances to experiment with other ways of life, to a certain extent this movement guarantees the establishment of the notion of “good distance” from the non-indigenous world.
Keywords
Amerindian peoples; Transformation; Territory; Upper Xingu; Kalapalo