Asian Journal of Latin American Studies (2016) Vol. 29 No. 4: 1-25 The Neighborly Relations between Middle Eastern Migrants and Indigenous People in Patagonia: Rethinking the Local Experiences in the Study of Ethnic-Migrant Minorities Mauricio Dimant* 1 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Dimant, Mauricio (2017), “The Neighborly Relations between Middle Eastern Migrants and Indigenous People in Patagonia: Rethinking the Local Experiences in the Study of Ethnic-Migrant Minorities” ABSTRACT In February of 1910 the Argentine press reported the disappearance of dozens of Middle Eastern immigrants in Patagonia. According to the police department in charge of the investigation, at least several of the missing immigrants of Arab origin had been killed and eaten by local groups of indigenous people. Immigrants from the Middle East, who were vulnerable as newcomers to the region, did not respond to the crisis of murder and cannibalism as “Arabs” or as Argentineans, but as Patagonians. This kind of public behavior opens a window not only to the importance of local identities at the subnational level in Argentina, but also the role of local and negative experiences in the integration of immigrants and ethnic minorities. This article explores the complexities of the interaction between immigrants from the Middle East and the indigenous population in Patagonia in order to rethink the local experience of ethnic-migrant minorities in Argentina. It argues that Argentine identity of Arabic-speaking immigrants in Patagonia emerged mainly as a result of shared local or regional interests rather than merely through an attachment to the federal state. Key Words: ethnicity, migrants, federalism, belonging, identity * Mauricio Dimant (PhD) is lecturer and researcher at the Department of Romance and Latin American Studies and Coordinator of the Latin American Unit at the Harry S. Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem (Email: mauricio.dimant@mail.huji.ac.il).