Joining the Global Market: Are Swiss Pocket Knives or Malaria Tablets the Reason for Amazonian Indigenous People Integration

Abstract

"This study was based on the hypothesis that market integration in Amazonian indigenous areas reflects external pressures imperatives and necessity, but also desire and aspiration from the part of indigenous people. Evidence from the Kayapó case and A'Ukre study site has shown that pressure, necessity and desire are the overall forces driving market integration. Pressure is important, because the Kayapó control strategic commodities in the Amazon, which have been depleted in the outside areas, and also because they are under the effect of governmental policies and the world market economy. Necessity is in turn decisive, because in many cases they are under the effect of environmental disruption and also because they have incorporated the need for new technologies and foodstuffs. And lastly, desire, because in some cases they are not only driven by utilitarian acquisition, and also because they purposefully try new modes of exchange.

"From this, we conclude that, since there is also a desire component, we cannot completely avoid market integration in indigenous areas. Therefore, it is important to understand its impacts in social organization, natural resource use and also if alternatives modes of marketing are able to diminish deleterious impacts."