Heritage and Original Peoples in Argentina: Learning from Indigenous Voices

Abstract

Heritage has been widely discussed in Latin America in general, and in Argentina in particular, in the last two decades. There have been debates about heritage within academic circles, especially in the social sciences and humanities, it has been a concern of state public administration, linked to tourism development, and it is frequently mentioned in the media. Furthermore, heritage has become an arena of dispute and struggle of subordinate groups who are in the process of regaining their identities and cultural ways, achieving social visibility, and making their voices heard. This paper explores the relationship between heritage and Original Peoples in Argentina from the indigenous point of view. Throughout this article, readers will find different indigenous voices explaining what they consider Indigenous Peoples’ main patrimony, what type of relations they establish with it, and how heritage is involved in their current projects, claims, and struggles, especially over their ancestral territories. As shown in this paper, Indigenous Peoples in Argentina seek to recover their heritage to re-establish the order and balance of the territorial forces and to demonstrate their pre-existence: that is, that they were in certain places before the formation of the modern nation-state and, therefore, that they have rights over these lands. In addition, claims and disputes over heritage are favoring the re-emergence and strengthening of indigenous spirituality and cultural practices.