The Indians of the Paraguayan Chaco

In the vast Chaco region of western Paraguay live approximately 40,000 Native people who survived Spanish colonization and today are divided into five linguistic families and thirteen ethnic groups. Despite their differences, the Chaco Indians hold many things in common: most suffer from poverty, adhere to enduring values of reciprocity and equality, and maintain a collective sense of identity. An awareness of a distinct ethnic identity is still upheld by Chaco societies despite being situated on the margins of the global economic system. Based on extensive fieldwork and ongoing contact with local indigenous organizations in Paraguay, John Renshaw presents an overview of contemporary Indian life in the Paraguayan Chaco. He describes the subsistence and market economies, household and kinship systems, political organization and mobilization, and the challenges of modern economic development. Renshaw also examines the impact of particular indigenous organizations and projects and considers whether a program of social and economic development can be formulated to address the needs of the thousands of Indians in the Chaco. Jonathan C. Renshaw is an independent consultant anthropologist who works for the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.