Erland Nordenskiöld was a Swedish anthropologist who made several trips to South America at the beginning of the 20th century.
Recently, several indigenous people in Bolivia got to see pictures of their ancestors that Nordenskiöld photographed over 100 years ago.
It was the Swedish State Museums for World Culture that showed the old pictures to the visitors’ pleasure.
– I feel very proud when I see pictures of my ancestors. I will look at the pictures and the crafts, says Lucia Canare Nate.
“Strong traditions”
One of the pictures shows, among other things, how the indigenous people fish with nets.
– We use spears for fishing more than for hunting, we don’t use dynamite. In our society there are strong traditions, says Jose Caimani Josesito.
In Bolivia, people often talk about the concept of cultural heritage in all cultures.
– We identify parts of all peoples that count as cultural heritage for them. In this debate we also find objects that we believe should be returned, says anthropologist Kantuta Lara Delgado.