Abstract
All over Latin America, indigenous populations are rapidly changing their lifestyle. This work elaborates on the complex experience of indigenous people in transition. Poverty, discrimination, marginalization, and endurance are defining characteristics of their everyday life. Global health programs represent excellent opportunities for addressing these issues. These initiatives, however, are at risk of being short-sighted, ethnocentric, and paradigmcentric. Global health programs would be increasingly more successful if they break disciplinary boundaries and invite actors with different perspectives to a dialogue that does not emphasize biology over culture or academic over community expertise.