Home is not enough. (Dis)-connecting a Rankülche indigenous collective, a territory, and a community in La Pampa, Argentina

Abstract

"We are bounded by the same need" was Curunao´s response to the questionabout the causes of mobilization of a small indigenous collective aimed at securinga territory of its own. Curunao is lonko (head, in ranküldungun) of indigenous community Epumer, one among the several groupings in which Rankülcheindigenous people are organized in the province of La Pampa, Argentina.Which is the foundation of this same need that stimulates a union amongindividuals At first sight it is about social causes: to defend themselves fromthreats of eviction of their plots. These menaces refer to an ongoing land conflictconfronting Epumer with non-indigenous persons in which the State plays asarbiter and regulator. Likewise, the need that binds us all might be explainedbringing in the mutual dynamics of power relations and discursive strategies oflegitimation by these actors.In this article I develop a supplementary approach.2 I maintain that this conflictcannot be reduced only to actors conceived of as human. Agency is distributedamong forces, human and non-human forming networks or assemblagesmore or less effective according to volume and extension. I propose to explorethe argument that in order to attain its ends in the struggle for the land, Epumercollective must constantly establish specific links with distinct sets of super-nonhumanforces. Specifically, I am interested in analyzing the crossings betweenEpumer's actions and the multiple agencies of territory and community.