Following the analysis of a lawsuit of 1967 whose protagonist was the protector of natives with some natives against their doctrinal priests, this article intends to inquire about the participation of the natives within the judicial system at the end of the XVII century in the jurisdiction of Salta. From a micro-historical perspective we take as the unit of observation the reduced peoples of natives in Pulares and Guachipas to explore and investigate the social relations embedded in the lawsuit and the which natives populations have articulated with justice. The hypothesis is base don the fact that said participation can be understood as a strategy of resistance, adaptation and social reproduction in the face of the colonial context. The study of this case allows us to observe the denographic decline of these small towns, where the caciques acted as defenders and representatives of the personal ando collective interests.