General

Brazil: Exhibition in Rio strengthens the legacy of indigenous peoples

Free exhibition can be seen from Wednesday to Sunday

Rafael Cardoso

Published on 21/02/2023 - 08:13

Rio de Janeiro

Exposição no Museu Histórico Nacional reforça legado e protagonismo dos povos indígenas — © Diakara Desana/Divulgação

The National History Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, inaugurated this week the exhibition Îandé – here we were, here we are, about the indigenous peoples of the country. The proposal is to bring a new look at their trajectory since before the arrival of the Portuguese until the present day.

A reformulation was made in the concept and in the collection of the long-term exhibition that already existed in the space for 16 years. Now, it is divided into two thematic axes – Archeology and Native Peoples –, which connect from ancient ethnographic objects and works by contemporary artists.

When setting up the space, the organizers present a dialogue between the different temporalities of the indigenous presence in Brazilian territory. They invite us to think at what points there are ruptures and continuities between past and present. For this, the participation of representatives of the Kanindé (Ceará State) and Yawanawá (Acre State) peoples was fundamental, as the museum's substitute director, Pedro Colares Heringer, points out:

“This was the first time that the museum acquired a collection from indigenous peoples based on a conversation about what speeches they wanted to convey in the museum. There was no intermediation with a collector or anything like that. For example, members of the Kanindé people chose what is representative to be here, what message they want to convey.”

Building the Memory

The collaboration was important so that the indigenous people could act as protagonists in the process of building their own memory. One of those involved was Antônia Kanindé. She has a degree in Museology and is currently taking a Master's course in Anthropology. Being an active voice in the elaboration of the collection helped to break with traditional images and discourses.

“Our narrative has always been drawn from a place where we were the others, always distant. Bringing indigenous people into a collaborative process of indicating objects and articulating exhibition discourses, presenting narrative texts about the collection and the historicity of these peoples, is thinking about a new place for the museum. A place that collaborates and, at the same time, includes indigenous peoples in its narrative. So there is now an 'I' perspective. It is no longer the museum talking about indigenous peoples. It is the indigenous people themselves who occupy the space of the museum and bring their narratives”, she explained.

One of the exhibition's curators, researcher André Amud Botelho, said that the participation of indigenous peoples brought important learning to the entire team.

“What we see here is the message that the museum is not just a place for objects, but a place for processes. Being them educational, reflective or affirming. We want an exhibition that allows us to always include new objects and be an open place for these debates. This is the spirit of the native peoples that we are trying to reproduce here”, stated Botelho.

Featured works

Of the oldest remains, the main work of the exhibition is the Tacape (wooden weapon), which belonged to the indigenous leader Tibiriçá, of the Tupiniquim people, in the 16th century. The object has been part of the museum's collection since 1924. Of the most recent pieces, there is a necklace donated by the Yawanawá, used in contemporary rituals. His design follows shapes that represent visions and mirages of indigenous people during celebration ceremonies. Among the contemporary artists, there are works by Denilson Baniwa, Diakara Desana, Mayra Karvalho and Tapixi Guajajara.

In another space designed to discuss current struggles, there are objects from the Yanomami people. A quiver with arrowheads and a loincloth are accompanied by a text that recalls the invasion of land by miners, attacks on villages and plantations, the pollution of rivers and the murder of indigenous peoples. More than presenting static elements, it allows a broad reflection of the historical and social meanings they represent.

The text about the exhibition ends with an invitation to collective resistance: “May we all, indigenous and non-indigenous, be indignant and demand the guarantee of the rights of the Yanomami and other indigenous peoples in Brazil”.