Peoples of the Gran Chaco

Book excerpt: The Gran Chaco region of South America constitutes a cultural area that is little known and largely misunderstood by the majority of people living outside its borders. From the earliest period of European contact, the societies under consideration here defended their territory and resisted first colonial and later national policies of domination and assimilation. The unique forms such resistance took constitute the subject of this book. Contrary to common assumptions, the hunter-gatherer values forged out of a unique environment have shown remarkable resilience throughout the centuries. It is the variety and relentless nature of cultural resistance that is documented in the various chapters presented here. The points of view expressed are those of scholars trained in a variety of academic settings (England, Sweden, U.S., Argentina) each with its unique perspective and frame of reference. Four of the seven writers are Argentine, three of whom have received training and experience in the U.S. Yet, it is the individual voices of indigenous people themselves that tell the story of contemporary life as experienced in the various societies concerned. They tell about the conditions that shape their lives and engender resistance to full assimilation into the white man's world. These are the voices of the future.