Representation and Self-representation

Abstract

The article analyzes experiences in archaeology and ethnology museums in Brazil that promote collaborative actions with Indigenous peoples involving studies of collections, exhibitions, preventive conservation, and collection management policies. We reflect on how these practices supplant thoughts and practices of the past concerning Indigenous rights, especially those related to the dialogic relations between Indigenous people and museum professionals, and the inherent conflicts, disputes and negotiations involved in decision-making. We rely on published articles, documentation of exhibitions, and testimonies from Indigenous people to understand the development of and contributions to collaborative processes, presenting reflections on experiments that point us to circumstances and possibilities of joint/shared activities from representation to self-representation as expressions of the active participation of Indigenous peoples in museums.