Paper short abstract:

This paper seeks to describe the spatial project of the Maraguá in the Abacaxis river valley and how it interacts with other superimposed projects being developed in the same region.

Paper long abstract:

This paper seeks to do three things: the first is to describe the spatial project of the Maraguá, a people who inhabit the Abacaxis river valley, in the central Amazon, and who were considered extinct by the Brazilian state until 2007. They speak a language that contains elements from the Arawak (referred to as old Maraguá) and Tupi language families (principally Sateré-Mawé and Nheengatu). For the past two decades the Maraguá have sought to obtain government recognition for their land, called Maraguápaji, a process which has involved complex negotiations with other regional agents, both human and non-human. The second is to explore the interactions resulting from the superimposition of Maraguápaji with other spatial projects being developed in the Abacaxis river valley by tourism agencies, logging companies, illegal drug traffickers, gold miners, agribusiness and local, state and national government agencies. Lastly it seeks to exposit a few methodological considerations regarding Maraguá expectations of my research and how they are continuously affected by the sign of non-existence.