Ongoing globalization processes challenge indigenous peoples' lives in various ways. These processes seem to be to a significant extent fuelled by 'global' agents whose practices are in one way or another informed by the systems of representations, values and beliefs of so-called 'developed' Western societies, those of the US, Canada and Western Europe. Not only are voracious national and transnational economic and political forces avidly seeking to gain control over these peoples' territories, resources and knowledge, but also a variety of self-considered alternative organizations from the 'developed' world (some of which actually advance agendas that in certain ways may be regarded as alternatives to those of mainstream agencies) are actively exposing these peoplesto their systems of beliefs and representations, for example, conservationist organizations, indigenous peoples' advocacy organizations, etc. This article discusses the participation of various indigenous peoples' political and economic organizations from 'Latin' Americain the Culture and Development Program of the 1994 edition of the Smithsonian's Festival of American Folklife. This festival was an occasion to observe how certain 'world class' events are both the result of and the occasion for the development of transnational relations and how these peoples' representations of themselves and of aspects of their lives are affected by their participation in these systems of global-local and transnational local-local relations.