Contribution short abstract:

The Yagua people in the Peruvian Amazon are enchanted by modern artefacts. My presentation provides an overview to underlying causes and then focuses on the heterogeneity of desires among the Yagua people as well as on the ethical challenges that emerged for me as a critical researcher.

Contribution long abstract:

Like many Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of the Amazonian rainforest, the Yagua people are enchanted by modern artefacts such as chainsaws, phones, and tablets. As a consequence, they become increasingly enmeshed into the regional capitalist system and more and more depend on wage work and the shops in town. The Yaguan desire for modern artefacts derives from various dreams and needs, which I will summarise in my presentation.

Importantly, desires among the Yagua people are heterogeneous. For instance, they differ between generation, and even an individual person may be drawn between a desire for the things of the Other and a desire for safeguarding their feeling of autonomy. Such heterogeneity of desires also appears in the work of Indigenous authors such as the Huaorani leader Nemonte Nenquimo.

For me as a critical researcher, the Yaguan interest in modern artefacts posed various ethical challenges, not only during my fieldwork but also during the writing process. For example, should I help my research participants in their quests for material affluence and consumption, even though I believe that this might lead to further problems down the line? Is it ethically permissible to support my research participants in terms of my own preferences and beliefs, or does that perpetuate colonial violence?

By focusing on the Yaguan integration into the regional economic system spanning rural areas and towns, my presentation thus opens up the field for a wider debate on methodological and ethical challenges related to divergent viewpoints on current economic trajectories and necessities.