Aves imaginadaslos wichíes del Impenetrable chaqueño, del exterminio a la integración

Résumé

A number of Indians wichíes (or matacos) are living today in Argentina in the region of Impenetrable (Chaco). This was always their habitat and for centuries tried to defend it from the colonizer harassment, considering that this territory was his and gave them not only economic resources but a lifestyle and a whole universe of values that gave meaning to their existence. From Independence until today wichíes –the same as the other aboriginal groups in Argentina– have been perceived by the white population in different ways. First as a problem to eradicate, then as a cause to defend, then as a value to protect. We present here a brief analysis of government policies were moving in line with these perceptions, to finally try to determine the extent that they have had in terms of national integration and identity reconstruction of this ethnic group, focusing on some fundamental aspects of their symbolic culture. For this we use historical and ethnographic sources, the latter taken from a field study we make to the community wichí Sauzalito during the month of September 1998.