Donating gifts and constructing relationships through images and documents of the Serviço de Proteção aos Índios (SPI)

Abstract

This article promotes a dialogue between images and words produced between 1910 and 1945 that compose the documental archive of the Brazilian Indian Protection Service (Serviço de Proteção aos Índios - SPI). The methodology is based on the observation of elements framed in the photographs, which pose themes and questions that are addressed in light of anthropological, photographic and historical considerations. The photographs register a commemorative solemnity - that of the Proclamation of the Republic - at the Simões Lopes’ Indigenous Post’s yard, which housed Bakairi Indians and served as an attraction post for the “Indians of the Xingu.” The images raise questions that traverse actions involving the donation of gifts/souvenirs. This evokes the textual documentation in composing the wider context: placed as counterpoint, it contributes to highlight the relationships produced from the context of contact, shedding light on indigenous actions and agency, as well as other possible histories.

Keywords:
Simões Lopes’ Indigenous Post (SPI); gifts; indigenous presences and actions; Xingu and Bakairi Indians