Questioned ethnicities: methodology and epistemology of urban indigenous nucleations and communities

Abstract

Groups of urban indigenous within urban locations are constantly increasing. The purpose of this paper is to present a set of methodological and epistemological tools that can refute some classical concepts of the discipline, in order to present the real complexity of the addressed population. To do this, we took cases of communities located in the south of Buenos Aires city -in the “Conurbano Bonaerense”- through experiences in political participation, in the organization of ethnic events and/or in the management of economic public resources. Such activities, which indicate a better organization and an increasing visibility of these groups represent also new conflicts and contradictions where the indigenous essentialisation plays an important role in the process of their political organization as well as their approaches on historical and present claims.