The Bakair í Indians of Brazil

1. The Bakairí Indians of Brazil Politics, Ecology, and Change

2. Ethnocentrism? • Page 9: “I was fortunate in that my ability to separate my ethnocentric reactions from my anthropological perspective was not seriously tested in the field • The Indians I worked with were not headhunters, as were the Acuar. Nor did they practice gang rape, as did the Yanomamo. They were not cannibals, as were the Wari’, and they did not have their children ingest hallucinogenic drugs, as did the Jívaro

3. Modernism, Post-modernism& Post-colonial literature (P. 13-14) • Researchers set up an artificial dichotomy between themselves as “scientists” and those whom they study as “subjects” (the “Other”) • Knowledge is a product of interpretations—it is a matter of who has power & authority • Post-colonial literature gives voice to those in traditional and “less developed” societies • “We are now accountable”

4. Political Ecology (Ch. 2) • Analysis of factors that shape power relations among human groups and influence relations between these groups and diverse aspects of their environment (P. 18) • (Weak on Slash & Burn ecology) • Multi-level perspective: • global? • Or grounded in specific histories & cultural contexts?

5. “Ecologically Noble Savage” (P. 29) • “Untouched Primitive” • Napolean Chagnon: Yanomami as (ahistorical) “Fierce People” • P. 30-31: Are indigenous people really “guardians of the natural world”? • P. 48: Role of World Bank in conservation of the rainforest & sustainable development of the Amazon

6. PART II

7. FUNAI • P. 74: “FUNAI’s goal was to accelerate the integration of indigenous people into Brazilian society by teaching them how to use the technology and methods commonly found on farms in Brazil and in the U.S.” • Are traditional, sustainable production systems a “luxury” that the world can no longer afford? • Pp. 76-79: Cerrado vs. Gallery Forest • Pp. 82-87: Swidden Horticulture vs. Industrial Agriculture

8. Bakairí Kinship • P. 105-110: “Because of the informality of Bakairí extended families and the absence of any real charge for the groups, I would say that lineages among the Bakarí are absent. This is consistent with what we see in the rest of Amazonia.” • Distinguish cross-cousins & parallel cousins • Matrilocal: Iroquois kinship terminology • (patrilineal or matrilineal) • P. 110: Blood relatives descended from the same female ancestor play a vital role in the organzation of the village; the village is structured...around seven major kin groups

9. Yanomamo Kinship Chart(male ego) Iwiapa Pama Ko Kono (younger) Paigo (older)

10. Gender Roles • P. 113: Men’s house (caduete) • P. 118: “Almost without exception, when Europeans contact such societies, egalitarian gender roles are transformed, and men assume greater control over production and access to key political positions.” • Pp. 121-130: Economy, politics, use of space, rituals, myths • P. 111-113: Girls puberty ritual vs. boys ear-piercing ritual • Pp. 130-135: Vilinta & daughters—an anomaly?

11. PART III

12. FUNAI (again) • P. 134: “National institutions such as FUNAI have promoted and capitalized on cultural differences that exist between the Bakairí and the Brazilian nation-state...Nation states such as Brazil usurp indigenous symbols and use them to distinguish itself from other countries.” • “Brazilindian” • P. 156: “FUNAI’s commitment to a philosophy dedicated to the preservation of Indian culture provides a protective shield between the Bakairí and the outside world...a long and placid association...” • P. 191: FUNAI as protector of Indians

13. Leadership (Ch. 9) • Impact of Change • P. 151 Epidemics & population decline • P. 153 Ecological destruction • New technologies • Do indegenous people contribute to decline? • P. 154 Demand for trade goods • Exploitation of their own environments • P. 158 Personal accumulation

14. “Middle Ground?” (P. 155) • “Fault lines in this middle ground point out stereotypes of Amazonian Indians, so valuable to environmentalists as symbols, misrepresent both the diversity of indigenous cultures and the reality of how they manage their resources” • To what extent should native peoples negotiate and trade? • Can a domination/subjugation model be rejected? • Note: “people from the first world”

15. Environmentalists • P. 156: When Xavante fell out of favor, & no longer met Western expectations, they focused on the Kayapó • P. 180: “They want what they see other Brazilians enjoying” • P. 178: “Mechanized agriculture provides the Bakairí with food and cash from the sale of rice...” --Good? or Bad?

16. Indigenous Agency • P. 191: Hegemonic global forces vs. Indigenous resistance • “They are incorporating alien elements into their own culture, but have avoided losing their identities” • P. 200: Cultural construction of identity—Xinguano as symbol of “real Indian” • Downplays Paranatinga ancestry • P. 201: “Positioning themselves...Making history is a way of producing identity”