The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History by Carolynn R. Larson

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History by Carolynn R. Larson Evan C. Rothera Larson, Carolynn R. The Conquest of the Desert: Argentina's Indigenous Peoples and the Battle for History. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 2020. La Conquista del Desierto—the Conquest of the Desert—continues to polarize people. The name refers to a series of military campaigns conducted by [End Page 233] Argentine forces from 1878 to 1885 that were designed to drive indigenous people out of the pampas and Patagonia. As Carolyne R. Larson observes, "Many in Argentina today see the conquest as bringing civilization to a barbaric landscape," but other people routinely spray-paint monuments of Julio A. Roca, the commander of the conquest and later president of Argentina, with phrases such as "Roca = genocide" and "Assassin" (1). Larson, currently associate professor of history at St. Norbert College and author of Our Indigenous Ancestors: A Cultural History of Museums, Science, and Identity in Argentina, 1877–1943 (2015), has assembled a talented group of scholars who examine the events of the conquest and their specific meanings to "unpack the issues of nation, violence, memory, colonialism, and indigeneity entangled within them" (2). In addition, the chapters in this volume foreground indigenous voices to locate counternarratives that challenge long-accepted ideas and stories about the conquest. Larson opens with a detailed discussion of the official story of the conquest and analyzes the "military, state, and popular press sources that chiefly crafted the conquest's central narratives of national urgency, peaceful conquest, indigenous disappearance, and triumphant civilization" (17–18). She provides important background information, especially for readers who are not well versed in the history of these events. Julio Vezub and Mark Healey flip the official story on its head by narrating the conquest from the viewpoint of Mapuche and Tehuelche caciques, not from the perspective of Argentine soldiers and leaders. Vezub and Healey assert that "indigenous leaders were far more effective than previous scholars have recognized in coordinating actions, protecting their people, and negotiating terms of subordination to the newly powerful national state" (44). Rob Christensen contends that the Argentine army's victory was "shaped by the confluence of many forces outside creole leaders' control" (71). His focus on the environment places him among scholars who have begun to emphasize relationships among environmental factors and military campaigns. Ricardo D. Salvatore analyzes Inacayal and Foyel, indigenous caciques who were captured and sent to the Museum of La Plata. Salvatore contributes to scholarly discussions of living indigenous people in a museum by exploring how they "fed the curiosity of both scientists and the public at large" and how their presence was seen as "a culmination of the civilizing project of modernity" (120). Walter Delrio and Pila Pérez illustrate how crimes against humanity occurred during three periods of genocide in Argentina. Jennie I. Daniels investigates [End Page 234] literary representation of the Argentine desert and indigenous people. She finds that literary works often portray indigenous people as "faceless hordes rather than specific groups" (146). David M. K. Sheinin argues for an expanded understanding of the military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. He notes that some military officials believed they had a historical responsibility, dating back to the conquest, to indigenous people. Thus, while some officers oversaw secret detention centers, others "were exercising a multifaceted plan to better the lives of First Peoples by improving rural education, building much-needed housing, providing better access to medical facilities, and more" (192). Ana Ramos examines the events of the conquest from the viewpoint of Mapuche memory and reveals the "value and importance that Mapuche agency has had in the regeneration of their affective and political bonds" (217). Sarah D. Warren, in the volume's final chapter, analyzes maps of Mapuche territory (Wallmapu) and illustrates how "contemporary maps of Mapuche territory include borders, boundaries, and places of historical significance related to the Conquest of the Desert in their renderings" (219). The Conquest of the Desert is a thought-provoking volume that does a great deal toward complicating scholarly understandings and revising the official story of these events. A chapter placing the Conquest of the...