Paper short abstract:

After suggesting in 1907 the massacre of "wild Indians", the influence of museum director Hermann von Ihering (1850-1930), began to be eclipsed. Through this event I want to reflect on the relation between scientific discourse and nationalistic projects in Brazil at turn of the twentieth century.

Paper long abstract:

The German natural scientist Hermann von Ihering (1850-1930) was the director of one of the most important Brazilian scientific institutions, the Museu Paulista in São Paulo, between 1893 and 1916. Besides encouraging researches in natural sciences, anthropology and ethnology, by hiring field researchers and purchasing collections, he dedicated himself to these disciplines by publishing scientific results and debating them as a public intellectual. As one of the most respected intellectuals in the country, he became involved in a controversy that damaged his reputation. In an article published in 1907 he claimed that for the good of civilization "wild Indians" resisting the progress, such as the Kaingang in Southern Brazil, should be slaughtered. On the one hand, his statement was welcomed by Brazilian financial and political elites that attacked indigenous peoples in order to obtain their land; on the other, he was criticized by colleagues as the debate about "indigenous questions" was growing. After he left the museum, its new director, Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay (1876-1958), not only changed its essence, transforming it from an anthropology and natural sciences museum into one about Brazilian history and the history of São Paulo, but also worked to obliterate von Ihering's influence. Taunay's scientific project was in consonance with the ideology of local elites who wanted to establish São Paulo as the political and symbolic center of Brazil. By analyzing these events, my aim is to reflect on the relation between scientific discourse and national(istic) projects in the turn of the twentieth century in Brazil.