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The Awá-Guajá And Brazil's Expanding Frontier In Amazonia.

Authors :
Forline, Louis
Source :
Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development. Fall/Winter2015, Vol. 44 Issue 3/4, p293-329. 37p.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

The Awá-Guajá are one of the last groups of foragers in the world. They came into permanent contact with Brazilian mainstream society in 1973 and have since been settled into four semi-nucleated communities by Brazil's Indian Service, FUNAI. Since contact was established, the Awá-Guajá have transitioned quickly into a settled agricultural life and are engaged with elements of Brazil's rapidly expanding Amazonian frontier. Brazil's stepped-up engagement with the world economy has impinged on the indigenous peoples of this region, and in this paper I explore how mining interests and other largescale projects have impacted the Awá-Guajá community. While the Awá-Guajá have received more visibility from the national and international media, the impacts of contact from outside economic interests have been set in motion and transformed their lives in significant ways. The Awa- Guaja have relied on both internal mechanisms to cope with change and also articulate with different interlocutors from mainstream Brazilian society and the international community to reshape their future. In this paper I argue that the cross-currents in globalization present a nuanced set of alternatives for indigenous peoples and show that these forces both assist and compromise the Awá-Guajá and other indigenous actors in the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
08946019
Volume :
44
Issue :
3/4
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Urban Anthropology & Studies of Cultural Systems & World Economic Development
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
113699471