The Chiquitanos in Mato Grosso: Ethnogenesis, Indigenous Policies and Academic Discourse

Abstract

Since the Chiquitanos were officially recognized as a Brazilian indigenous people in 1998, more than twenty books, articles and theses about them have been written and published in anthropology, linguistics, and education. This article is a critical review of this academic research, focusing on their contributions, their common themes and their interlinkages, as well as on the context in which they were produced: the conflict between Chiquitanos and local powers over access to land. Seeking a research proposal on historical anthropology and indigenous history, the analysis finds historicity in the context of this production and discusses it in the second part of the article.

Key words:
Chiquitanos; ethnogenesis; historical anthropology; identity; territory