The word of the “naturals” on justice. Limitations and possibilities on the analysis of court cases regarding to indigenous people (Jujuy, XVII century)

Abstract

This article aims to set the variables for the analysis of court documents regarding the role of indigenous people on justice during the colonial period. The main body of analysis constitutes the lawsuit of Indians Paipaya against Francisco Salas Valdez (1671). Through this analysis we will foresee the conditions on which the document was produced, the role of mediators, and the influence of cultural distance or subordination condition. We consider this work an approach not intended to be deffinitive, but to open an overview (or panorama) for the reflection about this subject. This extensive document will give us elements for methodologic and heurí­stic considerations, useful for the research of indigenous people through court documents