Haizebegi 2019 : Selk'nam and Yagan Voices in Europe

The festival

In October 2019, for the first time since the tragic colonial exhibitions, Karukinka co-organized the historic visit of Selk'nam and Yagan representatives to France and Spain.

A deeply moving journey to reclaim their narrative, consult historical archives, and share their living culture."

Following a carte blanche given by Denis Laborde (CNRS Research Director) to Lauriane Lemasson in January 2019 during a symposium where she presented her work, the opportunity was seized to invite three members of the Selk’nam and Yagan communities to participate in the sixth edition of the Haizebegi festival, in October 2019 in Bayonne (France).

For the first time since the colonial exhibitions that left their mark in Europe and across the Atlantic—displaying their ancestors in an abject manner—Mirtha Salamanca (Selk’nam, from Rio Grande, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), José German Gonzalez Calderon (Yagan, from Ukika, Navarino Island, Chile), and Victor Vargas Filgueira (Yagan, from Ushuaia, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) were able to testify to the past, present, and possible futures of their respective peoples.

The richness of the exchanges, born from the joint elaboration of the festival program between them and Lauriane, was the result of several months of preparation together despite the distances. The choice of topics addressed emphasized the need for cross-perspectives on the policies carried out in Argentina, Chile, and more broadly around the world regarding the rights of indigenous peoples (ILO Convention 169, among others).

From October 3 to 23, 2019, Mirtha, José, and Victor had the opportunity to meet with numerous researchers and institutional leaders, and to visit several significant locations, including:

– A meeting with Pascal Blanchard, a historian specializing in post-colonial studies, immigration history, and human zoos, during a conference in Nantes on October 4, 2019;
– The Anne Chapman collection preserved at the Brou de Dampierre library of the Paris Ouest – Nanterre University;
– The Basque University in Donostia (San Sebastian) during the doctoral seminar in social anthropology;
– The director of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv (affiliated with the Berlin Ethnological Museum)—Mr. Koch, who edited in 2017 the songs recorded by Furlong, Gusinde, and Koppers at the beginning of the 20th century;
– The management of the "South America" collections at the Musée du Quai Branly (Paris);
– The Sorbonne University during the doctoral seminar in ethnomusicology led by François Picard (Paris).

 

“When I received this invitation from Denis Laborde, my first thoughts crossed the Atlantic to reach the island of Tierra del Fuego and all the people who have accompanied me or are accompanying me there since 2013. What to do with this carte blanche? How to gather in 10 days what years have created?

Unable to ignore the intensity of my encounters with Mirtha Salamanca, José German Gonzalez Calderon, and Victor Vargas Filgueira, I wanted this opportunity to serve to change perspectives, so that these Patagonian landscapes would no longer be for us all those 'landscapes without faces' from my first expedition (2013).

In short, an itinerary with absence as its starting point.

Thanks to Denis Laborde and the Haizebegi Festival, it is with great emotion that I was able to invite these three members of the Yagan and Selk’nam communities (Argentina and Chile) to come and express themselves directly, rather than through intermediaries, about the history of their peoples in Bayonne.”

Lauriane Lemasson, in Haizebegi #6, Munduko Musiken Etxea, Bayonne, 2019, p.309

A visit synonymous with sharing and conviviality

Conferences

Subjects chosen together

The entire program of conferences and meetings was developed jointly by Mirtha, José, Victor, and Lauriane.
Among the topics discussed: the rights of indigenous peoples, respect for peoples vs. artistic creation and/or scientific research, the preservation/recovery of the Selk’nam, Yagan, and Haush languages, human remains, archives, and objects present in Europe, and salmon farming projects in Yagan territory.

Workshops

Yagan basketry in Bayonne!

Because the woven rush basketry practiced by Victor, among others, brings people together and encourages spontaneous and informal dialogue, the decision was made to organize a two-hour introductory workshop on Yagan basketry every day during the festival.
The rushes had been gathered and prepared in Brittany, with Lauriane and her parents, during a few days spent at their home before heading to Paris and then Bayonne.

Exhibitions

Crafts and photos

In order to showcase artisanal creations as expressions of their cultures, numerous objects were presented to the public: bark canoes, whalebone harpoons, woven rush baskets, painted masks, jewelry...
Photographs taken in 2013 by Lauriane were also exhibited: eighteen shots gathered in the exhibition entitled "Paysages sans visages" (Landscapes without faces).

Concerts

Cultures as sources of inspiration

Several artists were invited to this festival to present their creations inspired by different aspects of the Yagan, Selk’nam, and Haush cultures. Among them were composer Joaquin Cofreces (originally from Ushuaia), the creators of "speculative fictions" Pablo Esbert Lilienfeld and Federico Vladimir Strate Pezdirc, and dancer Sylvain Sicaud from the company "Quelque part" (Strasbourg).

Seminars

Donostia (San Sebastian) and Paris!

Thanks to scientific partnerships and the affiliation of researchers with different laboratories, several seminars were dedicated to the visit of Victor, Mirtha, and José.
Several topics, including "what the researcher takes... and what they give back...", helped raise awareness among young researchers about good practices in terms of exchange and, above all, respect, dialogue, and the restitution of collected information, sounds, and/or images. Working collaboratively "with" and not "on" informants.

Presentaciones

General public and middle school students

To share their histories and cultures, José, Mirtha, and Victor were able to exchange with the public during numerous conferences, round tables, workshops, and meetings.
Among these events, a meeting took place with students from a middle school in Bayonne that welcomes pupils of many nationalities. Relevant questions followed by detailed and sensitive answers deeply marked the minds of the participants.

Press & Academic Coverage

Explore the articles, interviews, and academic publications dedicated to this historic visit in Europe:

 

 

The program

To learn the details of the festival program, here is the download link: Haizebegi 2019

Social networks

Contact

contact@karukinka.eu 

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+33 6 72 83 03 94

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