Convergencias y especificidades en torno a las demandas por restituciones de restos humanos de comunidades mapuche y tehuelchemapuche en las provincias de Mendoza y Chubut

Abstract

In recent decades, claims for the restitution of indigenous human remains have gained prominence in various regions of Argentina and Latin America. Within processes of political organization, recovery of ancestral territories and identity reaffirmation, such claims configure a field of relationships and conflicts in which state agencies, scientists and indigenous groups intervene. In this article we reflect on the implications of claims of human remains and objects appropriated as “heritage” in the framework of 19t century explorations and archaeological investigations of varied scope. Based on an ethnographic approach, the text focuses on two trajectories of claims for the restitution of human remains and funeral trousseau brought about by Mapuche and Tehuelche-Mapuche communities in the provinces of Mendoza and Chubut. From accompanying different instances of these claim processes, we noticed a series of convergences and specificities that propitiate the dialogue between the community experiences as claimants in the aforementioned provincial jurisdictions.