Narratives of the natives of Ilha Mutum, Porto Rico, Paraná

Abstract

Porto Rico is located in the extreme northwest of the state of Paraná, on the banks of the Paraná River. The area possesses multiple chains of small islands, of which Mutum Island stands out. The island used to have a significant population, but difficulties in its regional fishing activity, combined with man-made intrusions into the environment and proposed legislation to turn the island into a nature preserve, have served to exclude the native “ribeirinho” (“river-dwelling”) population; who have since sought other places to live. As a result of modernizing forces, there has been a severe negative impact on the socioeconomic conditions of this population, which is, traditionally, riparian and insular; in addition to their other means of survival. The dynamics exposed by the interviews with Sara and Cléa, daughter and mother, present a game of relationships between their subjective projects and the overall social context; in which individuals are involved in socioeconomic life, and not passive with it like inert objects. Through oral history, we sought to understand how the subjects have dealt with these regional changes. The historic experience of the subjects interviewed makes the past more concrete and appealing to the production and divulgation of historical knowledge.