Nas margens do Rio do Mel: a presença kaingang e a fronteira interétnica no Município de Iraí-RS

Abstract

This study has as object the interethnic frontier observed at the meeting between the Kaingang and the non-indigenous in Iraí-RS, which emergence and development is associated with the commercial exploration of the hot springs natural resources. Iraí-RS, located in the northwest of Rio Grande do Sul State, is the place where is Kaingang Indigenous Land, demarcated in the early 1990’s by the Kaingang community, after movement articulation and indigenous struggle. Observing the contrasts, the contradictions and how the interethnic frontier manifested itself in some historical moments and specific economic contexts in the Iraí-RS history, and thus understanding the reasons for its activation, is the study central objective. Some newspaper, two books, and a lawsuit served as historic sources to this research exercise. As a hypothesis, the interethnic frontier manifested itself when the indigenous presence was not understood as economically convenient to the commercial interests of public and private agents.