A majority of indigenous people occupy positions at the bottom of class hierarchies in their nation-states. This class dimension of the identities of indigenous peoples and the way in which they view ethnicity are linked with each other. Ethnicity is a social identity that evolves in response to historical and structural conditions. It is possible for a group of people to have a strong indigenous identity that contains a few aboriginal cultural traits. Being indigenous by virtue of identifying yourself and being identified as indigenous by others is two different things.(Varese 59) The indigenous in Latin America were incorporated into European colonial projects and today they continue to be situated in national and international issues dominated by non-indigenous inhabitants. Usually the nation states seeks to appear as one common cultural identity , but the class dimensions of ethnicity adds a structural contradiction to the nation building. When trying to keep the class system going, the state emphasizes the ethnic differences which the reproduction of the class system depends on.
This structural contradiction by the state poses a difficulty for indigenous activists. The preservation and resurgence of indigenous cultural and social resources enhance their identity and solidarity. Sometimes this enhanced identity may serve as a more visible sign of difference and create a target for oppression and repression. This defensive strategy may actually work to deepen the cultural and ideological dimensions of class differentiation.(Brysk 42)
The challenge for people in understanding is how the indigenous societies retain their distinctive qualities while becoming integrated into the larger part of society. It must be ensured that the creation of indifference and integration do not mark indigenous peoples as inferior but mark them as a source of power that can be used in their defense. The contemperary indigena is formed out of and merges the numerous fragmented subject postions that are scattered in social and geographic spaces. There is now a synergy between indigenous defense of land and natural resources and the defense of collective human rights. Many indigenous groups are extremely weak and subordinate in their own local context but they are able to acquire political strength by projecting their politics in a global setting.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brysk, Alison. "Turning Weakness Into Strength: The Internationalization of Indian Rights" Latin American Perspectives 23.2(1996):38-53.
Varese, Stephano. "The Ethnopolitics of Indian Resistance in Latin America" Latin American Perspectives 23.2(1996):58-69.
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Chrissy Rose crose00@sequent1.providence.edu
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This website was a project for Political Science 416, "Race and Politics in the Americas" at Providence College, Spring '98
Prof. Tony Affigne
