Objective/Context:

The article studies the continental concept of Indian disseminated by the indigenistas who, in the mid-twentieth century, were shaping a Pan-American indigenista field.

Originality:

Against the common idea that Indian is a colonial category, it suggests that the twentieth century characterization of the Indian was a typically modern creation.

Methodology:

It is based on an analysis of unexplored printed primary sources, from a transnational approach that highlights the participation of indigenistas of different backgrounds and origins in the search for a continental notion of Indian.

Conclusions:

The analysis shows how the indigenista contribution reinforces an ongoing process of singularization and abstraction of this concept, also emphasizing the temporary ascription of the Indian and a history of domination and exploitation with effects up to the present day. Although this “Indian of the Americas” is shaped by typically modern elements, indigenistas defend the idea that it is a “colonial category”, determined by a colonial heritage (with effects on “character”) and by the persistence of a colonial situation/relationship. This indigenista resignification would represent an important legacy for later developments, by establishing the experience of colonization as an essential element in the definition of the Indian.

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