Crítica de la autoridad indigenista. Actores y significados del indigenismo interamericano (1940-1970)

Abstract

On the eighty anniversary of the First Inter American Conference on Indian Life (Pátzcuaro, 1940), this articles sheds light on the inter-American indigenismo and its different images. By examining the notion of indigenismo as developed by its key actors and some external observers, three different phases are revealed during the period 1940-1970. The analysis shows how each phase shaped a given idea of indigenismo, according to the historical context and the specific purposes of its protagonists. Instead of being subjected to an imperative critical analysis, some of these self-referential images were instead considered as an undeniable fact. Far from that conventional narrative on indigenismo, this work offers a critical analysis of the indigenista authority, in order to improve an informed interpretation of the historical reality and meanings of the inter-American indigenismo.

Keywords

• indigenismo
• Inter American Indian Institute
• criticism of the indigenist authority
• historiography