Reuieuis

Contact the review editor: Stephen D. Glazier, Sociology and Anthropology,University of Nebraska, Kearney, Nebraska 68849; 308-865-8760;glaziers@platte.unk.edu

Indigenism: Ethnic Politics in Brazil. Alcida Rita Ramos. Madison, WI: TheUniversity of Wisconsin Press. 1998. x + 326 pp., 10 b/w illus. $ 55.00 (cloth);$21.95 (paper).

Alcida Rita Ramos's new book is the culmination of about thirty years of workas an anthropologist and activist devoted to Brazilian indigenist issues. It is a muchwelcomed addition to our understanding of interethnic relations in Brazil, indigenouspeoples and their struggles for survival, national consciousness and the socialpathologies of developing nation-states, and the practices and pitfalls of pro-Indianorganizations. Thus, this is a complex work that draws upon multiple sources rangingfrom the author's fieldwork data to historical and ethnographic accounts, pressreleases, official documents, and publications by various secular and religiousorganizations. Ramos is to be congratulated for translating and bringing to ourattention some Brazilian Portuguese sources.

Although Ramos makes use of various concepts and theoretical approachescurrently associated with postmodernism (e.g., hermeneutics and deconstruction),she does not sink into solipsism, narcissism, or obfiiscation. Instead, she sheds lighton the many paradoxes and competing interests that shape interethnic relations inBrazil. The manner in which she frames the discussion reveals that she has spentmany restless hours trying to grasp and come to terms with a difficult and mind-boggling social reality. But let me emphasize that Ramos does not portray herself asa heroine or turn the work into a navel-gazing exercise. Even though I do not alwaysconcur with her statements, I must admit that this book is a good example of howsome recent theoretical insights can be used productively. Seasoned fieldworkers willnotice that her discussions often betray a struggle between her role as a scholar andan activist. This struggle creates an interesting tension and subtext worthy of seriousconsideration in methods courses.

The book is comprised of an introduction, 10 chapters distributed into threeparts, and a conclusion. The introduction presents the main question that promptedRamos to write the text; that is, why is it that Brazilian Indians, though few innumbers, occupy a prominent place in Brazil's national consciousness. In order toaddress this question she chose to analyze indigenism, which she defines as amultilayered "ideological edifice" consisting of all the popular, learned, and officialimagery onto which are projected myriad notions of the Indian (p.6, 7, 57). Official

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policies and native activism also feed into this construct, which ultimately exposesthe complex dynamics of the representation of self versus other.

Part I, "Setting the Stage," makes explicit the analysis of discourse that guidesmuch of the work. It examines how certain words (i.e., child, heathen, nomad,primitive, and savage) have been used to essentialize Indians and justify conquest(Chapter 1). For example, the childlike Indian—perceived as gullible and an easyprey for subversive and foreign interest groups—is deemed a threat to Braziliannational sovereignty. Following works such as those of Adam Kuper and MariannaTorgovnick, which scrutinize representations of primitiveness, Ramos also arguesthat anthropologists have often been implicated in this damaging process of"othering" (e.g., Stanley Diamond, George Peter Murdock, and Elman Service) (pp.34,42-43). While this may be true in some cases, it seems to me that we should allbe careful not to impute prejudice, carelessness, or malice to writers who (1) werebasically using the accepted terminology of their era, and (2) sought to redeem andre-signify words (e.g., Stanley Diamond's use of the word "primitive"). Failure to doso can lead us to dehistoricize anthropological theory. In this and in subsequent partsof the volume, the author also considers how some groups involved in Indian affairshave changed their rhetoric over time. The progressive wing of the CatholicChurch, for instance, has adopted the use of the term enculturation as opposed toacculturation even though its final goal is evangelization (p. 28). Romanticdiscourses about the Indian are treated in Chapter 2.

Though the basis of her theoretical argument in Part I is not novel, theethnographic material that she presents is interesting. Readers will be intrigued(some outraged) by her discussion of an incident involving two Kayapo Indians,Paulinho Payakan and his wife, Irekran. Both individuals were accused of raping ayoung non-Indian woman. Even though Paulinho initially admits having had sexualintercourse with—not raping—the young woman, he later denies it and blames hiswife for the aggression (p.52-54). Ramos suggests that the case reveals several aspectsand consequences of indigenism: the danger of the savage category; miscommunicationand ensuing confusion in interethnic contexts; ambiguity towards both culturallyconservative and acculturated Indians; the sensationalism and "othering" work ofthe media; the sexual fantasies of non-Indians; and the desire of some interestedparties to jeopardize pro-Indian legislation, discredit a vocal and "wealthy" Indianleader (Paulinho), and possibly divert attention from the Rio Earth Summit.

Part II, entitled "Speaking to the Whiteman," is primarily concerned with howBrazilian Indians have communicated with non-Indians and how they haverepresented themselves in these exchanges. Their strategic use of the Europeannotions of relativism, universalism, and citizenship is discussed in Chapter 3. Puristsmay not like the Indians' use of Western symbolic and political resources, or theirevolving political syncretism; however, we are reminded that this situation stemsfrom the fact that Indians are denied full citizenship and are located in an interethniccommunicative field. In Chapter 4, Ramos presents three speeches by BrazilianIndian leaders that reveal different degrees of political accommodation and resistance.She creatively weaves into the discussion the life history of the speakers with thelinguistic analysis of the texts. In addition, she considers native challenges to theactivities of Indian leaders, often viewed as having sold out, but argues that these

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internal quarrels are part of the price that must be paid when Indians enter thepolitical arena. Another dimension of the price extracted is the passage from aholistic to a compartmentalized way of thinking (p. 137). This entire part will appealto linguists and legal and political anthropologists. Anyone interested in the currentdebates surrounding Rigoberta Menchu's self-representation and David Stoll's(1999) recent work questioning the authenticity of the events she has portrayed,should read this part.

Part III, "Speaking through the Indians," contains six chapters. The subject ofChapter 5 is the seduction of Brazilian Indians with material goods (trinkets) and theroleplayed in this process by missionaries, theNational Indian Foundation (FUNAI),military personnel, and sertanistas (men devoted to finding and pacifying remoteIndian groups, e.g., the Villas Boas brothers). Her discussion of sertanista tactics aremost revealing and timely, for The New York Times Magazine published an article inwhich the activities of a contemporary sertarusta, Sydney Possuelo, are highlighted(see Schemo 1999).

After seduction came abandonment, which ultimately lead to the emergence ofa Brazilian pan-Indian movement (Chapter 6). The movement was initiallypropelled by the Catholic Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI) during the early1970s. But since then CIMI's influence has decreased partly on account ofideological differences with Indian leaders and activists (e.g., CIMI's insistence onthe use of the word "nations" instead of "Indian peoples"). Today national andforeign NGOs play active parts in the Indians' political struggles. In fact, now theproblem seems to be that there is a plethora of competing and poorly coordinatedNGOs(p.l75-176).

NGOs are not the only actors and actresses in this drama; development agenciesand their teams of experts and allies must also be considered (Chapters 7 and 8). InChapter 7, Ramos treats us to a powerful discussion of how the notion of developmenthas been naturalized and how today many are linking the right to self-determinationwith the right to develop. Often damaging development ventures are depicted as"sustainable," another term which has entered the ideological edifice of indigenism.In the end, everything from indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge to Indian genes,is turned into a commodity for the global market. Anyone concerned withsustainable development, biopiracy, genetic engineering, and ethnoscience shouldread this chapter carefully.

The discussion in Chapter 8 revolves around military involvement in a pro-development and nationalistic venture, the Calha Norte Project. In Brazil, to thedetriment of the environment and Indian lifeways, nationalism and development gohand in hand. Although pro-Indian legislation has been crafted and approved,governors and other officials undermine it (Chapter 9). NGOs can, and often do,play a critical role here. However, Ramos observes that NGOs are increasinglybecoming bureaucratized and loosing sight of the real Indians and their needs(Chapter 10). These organizations operate with an unrealistic (i.e., hyperreal)notion of what Indians are like, routinely expecting them to be the very embodimentof honor, dignity, and good morality. When Indians do not meet these ideals, theyare withheld support (p. 278). In fact, NGOs are becomingquasi business enterprisesthat spend more time and effort in administrative matters than on their professed

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objectives and very reason for being (p.273). Sounds familiar? Not that long ago TheUnited Way was heavily criticized in the United States for similar reasons, whichbrings me to another observation. Readers, even if they are not Amazonianspecialists or anthropologists, will be able to relate to the many issues raised by theauthor because they often stem from geopolitical, economic, and technologicaldevelopments associated with capitalism and globalization.

The conclusion summarizes the author's claim that the study of indigenismserves as a window into Brazil as a nation; in particular, its ambiguity towards itsIndians and its inferiority complex for not having fully developed (p.292). Noexplicit solutions are offered. In fact, some readers will feel that the social realitydepicted is so convoluted that it cannot be helped or improved. Perhaps Ramosbelieves that truth, no matter how ugly and complex, is the first step towards a processof national healing and reconciliation. If that were the case, she would be in goodcompany (e.g., Desmond Tutu).

I strongly recommend this book to all who are interested in indigenous peoples,be they anthropologists, political scientists, historians, development agents,environmentalists, or activists. It would be useful as a text for several courses, e.g.,ethnicity and culture change, native peoples of the Americas, research methods andhuman rights, and the psychology of colonialism and nation-states. Besides havingan affordable price in paperback form, I believe that it would be intelligible to upper-level undergraduates and graduate students.

Lourdes GiordaniJohnson CenterAlbright CollegeReading, PA 19612-5234LourdesG@alb.edu

ReferencesSchemo, Diana Jean

1999 The Last Tribal Battle. The New York Times Magazine (October 31 ):7O-77.Stoll, David

1999 Rigoberta Menchii and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans. Boulder, CO: Westview Press