Indigenous heritages in the 80 years of the Museu das Missões: Ethnohistory and ethnomuseology applied to the missional imagery

Abstract

By questioning the founding Jesuit paradigm at the Museu das Missões, this analysis discusses the indigenous non-place at the permanent exhibition in the Lúcio Costa Pavilion in such a way that this collection can be seen as part of national indigenous heritage. This is done through an ethnohistorical and ethnomuseological approach addressing the democratization of collections; the study analyzes the production, form, content, and consumption of missionary imagery at the time of the Jesuit missions targeting indigenous peoples in Brazil. It concludes with a discussion of the possible implications this approach may have for the Museu das Missões as it celebrates its 80th anniversary, suggesting a resignification for its collection as well as adapting the relationship it has constructed with the contemporary Mbyá Guarani population.