We introduce a comparative study about the two indigenist essays from the 19th century: Juan María Gutiérrez´s “De la poesía y la elocuencia de las tribus de América” (1869) y Jorge Isaacs Ferrer´s “Estudio sobre las tribus indígenas del Estado del Magdalena” (1884). Both authors discuss the terminology of the colonial historians and chroniclers and support the need for a tough study of Amerindians´ linguistic and aesthetic expressions. In both essays appear the question about the political status of the aboriginal people during the effervescence nationalisms.