Emerging from the Silence and FallaciesUncovering the Stories and Struggles of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, Argentina, and Peru

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the narrative resources and journalistic treatment of longform reportages authored by three Latin American literary journalists who deal with salient topics concerning Indigenous people in three countries of the region. Joseph Zárate, Natalia Viana, and Sebastián Hacher each produced stories that reveal the struggles various tribes have experienced over the years, from the effects of the mining industry in Peru to the high suicide rate among Brazil’s Indigenous peoples to the historical abuses suffered by the Mapuche communities in Argentina. This study examines how literary journalistic techniques help uncover the past and display the present challenges facing these Indigenous communities, and reframe the biases and negative portrayals traditionally disseminated by mainstream media. Using onsite reporting that includes Indigenous voices in combination with expert sources and investigative journalism, their reportages provide insight into the troubling issues that Indigenous peoples are continually facing in Latin America.