Showing themselves: indigenous people, cultural heritage promotion and community development in Northern Argentina

Abstract

In this article I explore how the heritage discourse is mobilised and negotiated in the definition of subjects and criteria for the distribution of development resources in indigenous Northern Argentina. My emphasis is on the significance of heritage in the politics of recognition and policies of redistribution, as a means to legitimate cultural distinctiveness and the access to funding which promotes culture as a resource against poverty. I indicate that there is a movement among Indigenous people in the area to deploy their ethnicity not just for commercial reasons of commodification but also as a new emphasis on their own heritage. A key factor in these processes is Indigenous peoples’ interaction with governmental and non-governmental institutions, other actors and each other. In connection with this, I introduce the concept of ‘self showing’ among Indigenous groups and also consider the diverse attitudes towards these new practices related to heritage discourse.