"...HACER DE CADA TRIBU UN PUEBLO..." LOS INDIOS AMIGOS Y LA TIERRA EN LA FRONTERA SUR BONAERENSE (1860-1870)

In this paper, we address the situation of the indigenous population lands in the southern sector of the Buenos Aires frontier during the 1860s and 1870s. Within the studies on the territoriality of the Pampas and North Patagonia indigenous populations, the particular situation of the “indios amigos” -groups settled on the Buenos Aires frontier- constitutes a topic on which the focus of analysis has been placed in the last years. We analyze initiatives for access to legal land ownership and different projects promoted by the State and other sectors of frontier society, which proposed the reorganization and regularization of indigenous settlements. We also made the first approach to economic activities of the “indios amigos,” which contributed to explaining the various interests that influenced the possibilities of access to land for the indigenous population on the southern frontier of Buenos Aires.