ABOUT ORÍGENES


The Tehuelche in Southern Patagonia usually point out that the photos of their grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives are often found in books and more recently on Internet pages. It is not unusual either to find these images decorating the walls of government institutions or commercial premises, particularly those linked to tourism. On top of the uneasiness caused by the absence of names or any biographical information about those portrayed, there is also the lack of consultation and request for authorisation to exhibit them, on top of the fact that almost no one who is actually related to those portrayed has been able to access portraits of their ancestors or keep those photographs in their homes.

On several occasions, Tehuelche individuals had expressed their intention to bring together all the available images in a single place; a space where the younger generations would have the opportunity to learn about family and community histories, retrace links between relatives from different periods, the places where they lived and circulated, and the struggle their ancestors waged to resist and survive in the context of colonisation.

It was this attempt to connect the past and the present that led to the idea of putting together collective photo albums that would make it possible to reconstruct family trees, as well as individual and collective trajectories. From this idea, in turn, stemmed the desire to create the General Tehuelche Archive (AGT); a collection of photos, oral and audiovisual records, academic and dissemination articles, chronicles, journalistic pieces, objects and any information available about the Tehuelche people, in all kinds of media, with the exception of the mortal remains of their ancestors. Imagined back then on paper, hung on a wall or stored in a filing cabinet, a decade later the project has turned digital.