The culture‐conscious Brazilian Indian: Representing and reworking Indianness in Kayabi political discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, I examine a Brazilian indigenous people's self‐conscious use of the ideas of “culture” and “Indian ethnicity.” Whereas analysts usually discuss indigenous use of these concepts in the context of high‐profile national or transnational intercultural events, I look at how retrospective accounts of participation in such events are woven into local political discourse. I focus on how two Amazonian leaders represent their participation in past events of cultural display as a means of mounting very different arguments about their eligibility for positions of authority in their community. I argue that local frames of reference, for example, those relating to the culturally appropriate conduct of politics, must be considered in assessing the significance and meaning of cultural performances, even when the staging of indigenous culture is performed principally for a nonlocal audience.

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