perspective chapter 3

Notes

•First Fieldwork Experience My first experience as a student anthropologist took place in a small indigenous community in northeastern Brazil, studying the Jenipapo-Kanindé of Lagoa Encantada (Enchanted Lake). I planned to conduct independent research on land tenure among tribe members and had permission to spend several months with the community. My Brazilian host family arranged for a relative to drive me to the rural community on his motorcycle. After hours of navigating bumpy roads in blazing equatorial heat, I was relieved to arrive at the reservation's edge. He cut the engine, and I removed my heavy backpack from my sweaty back. •Initial Community Interaction Upon hearing us arrive, children and then adults slowly and shyly approached. I greeted the curious onlookers and briefly explained who I was. As children ran to fetch the cacique (the chief/political leader), I began explaining my research to several men gathered nearby. I mentioned my interest in understanding how the tribe negotiated land use rights without private land ownership. When I used the colloquial term “índio” (Indian), a man who was the cacique’s cousin said, “Your work will be difficult because th...