Tag: Bolivia

Decolonize Democracy in Bolivia and Canada

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The article “How to Decolonize Democracy: Indigenous Governance Innovation in Bolivia and Nunavut, Canada”, by Roberta Rice, is explicitly about the experiments of decolonization that are taking place in Bolivia and Canada. Decolonization is defined as “the revalorization, recognition and re-establishment of indigenous cultures, traditions and values within the institutions, rules and arrangements that govern society”. The overall goal of decolonization in Bolivia and Canada is to create a “national indigenous culture with new political subjects and forms of citizenship”.
Bolivia and Canada are the first “large-scale tests of indigenous governance in the Americas”. The Indigenous peoples came into power through a conventional democratic path. However, there seems to be “social, economic and institutional problems” that impede the Indigenous groups in the area to have the full power granted to them by the democratic system to incorporate their values into the government.
In Bolivia, the presidency of Evo Morales have given the Indigenous population hope and a way to change the government and improve the position of Indigenous peoples. The presidency of Evo Morales and the 2009 Constitution are considered to be two important factors that will help the installation of Indigenous values into the government. According to the Morales administration, the government bureaucracy is the greatest obstacle to creating a more inclusive government.
In Nunavut, instead of seeking power through an Inuit-specific government system, the Indigenous peoples seek a more public government system. Although similar, there are some differences between the two process of decolonization. Rice claims that the case of Bolivia is considered to be that of “participatory governance” while Nunavut is considered to be that of “resource governance”. The large amount of land gained prompted the creation of a new unique government.
Canada and Bolivia are examples of Indigenous communities creating change that will benefit their communities and hopefully spark other countries to do the same.
 
Article source:
Rice, Roberta. “How to Decolonize Democracy: Indigenous Governance Innovation in Bolivia and Nunavut, Canada.” Bolivian Studies Journal/Revista de Estudios Bolivianos 22, no. 0 (2016): 220–42.
https://doi.org/10.5195/bsj.2016.169.

Cosmovision and Justice

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For Bolivia, the 1990s neoliberal reforms brought privatization of resources such as water, electricity and transportation.  As neoliberalism caused growing inequality and exploitation of those resources and the people who used them, tensions surrounding privatization grew.  This culminated in two large movements: the Water Wars of 2000, and the Gas Wars of 2003. The motivation behind the movements was the indigenous people who were losing their land and cultural practices due to the extraction of resources.  In the article “Good living for whom? Bolivia’s climate justice movement and the limitations of indigenous cosmovisions,” Fabricant explains that this brought up the important question of how indigenous ways of life were supposed to be protected.
As a result of the surge in indigenous activism, Evo Morales rose to popular eye and was elected president on the platforms of revitalising Bolivia through social movements.  The election of Morales made the Bolivian left very hopeful that his indigenous perspective was going to be the ideology that saved Bolivia from a climate crisis and be an example for the world.  In practice, Morales ended up ignoring the consulta previa Fabricant argues that independent of the fact that Morales lost sight of the indigenous activism he promised, it is not possible to apply indigenous cosmovisions or societal structures to national or global platforms.  Speaking specifically of the Aymara organization of labor, the ayllu, Fabricant points out that these systems were developed in the Andes, for the Andes. The ayllu system works to keep stability within communities, ensures that no one group suffers more in a drought year or in a bad livestock year, and upholds respect for nature.  While this is a great model, it is not up to indigenous groups to educate about, and implement solutions for problems that colonialism, neoliberalism, and globalization caused.
Fabricant describes the economic and social structure of the ayllu in relationship to the exploitative extraction policies of the Bolivian government that indigenous communities throughout Bolivia were opposing in order to preserve their relationship with the land.  This structure brings up the larger theme of the indigenous cosmovisions, or worldviews, that define indigenous cultures separate from western ideology. Cosmovision is extremely important concept for the indigenous activists as they take on the burden of educating the elite and general public to further their cultural needs.  This concept is the justification for all political demands because their worldview impacts the way they move through spaces and interact with structures of power. Indigenous language, values, upbringing, and beliefs all shape a person differently than western culture.
Different communities, experiencing different cultural and political contexts, advocate for different demands based on their specific needs. During Bolivia’s climate wars, multiple groups had conflicting demands based on the differences in their communities position within the economic and social structures.  The systems of power, when negotiating with indigenous groups, are quick to try and generalize the demands of indigenous people but their cosmovisions are not the same. Decolonization can not begin without the acknowledgement that each indigenous group has a unique cosmovision that must be respected and taken into account when dismantling hegemonic institutions.

Indigenous Languages: Access to Language Learning Services

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This is a small list of different language learning tools collected by students of the class. Language is an important aspect of culture, however, many of the indigenous peoples sometimes struggle linguistically. The population who speak indigenous languages is few, so sometimes they are not able to communicate. The dominance of Spanish and the forced learning of it affected communities. We compiled links with access to language learning tools for indigenous languages to increase their visibility.
 
MULTIPLE LANGUAGES AND SERVICES
 
Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/
Offers GUARANÍ, NAVAJO, and HAWAI’IAN
 
Native Languages: http://www.native-languages.org/
 
The Live Lingua School: https://www.livelingua.com/
 
The Talking Dictionary Series by Living Tongues:
https://livingtongues.org/talking-dictionaries/
Offers indigenous languages spoken in Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, and USA
 
GUARANÍ
 
Language resource by Native Languages: http://www.native-languages.org/guarani.htm
 
MAORI
 
The Complete English-Maori Dictionary: http://www.maorilanguage.info/mao_lang_faq.html
 
MAPUDUNGUN (Mapuche)
 
Mapuche to Spanish dictionary:  https://yazg.wordpress.com/diccionario-mapudungun/
 
A Mapuche language learning site:
http://educagratis.cl/moodle/course/view.php?id=464
 
NAHUATL
 
The Nahuatl Dictionary: https://nahuatl.uoregon.edu/
 
OBJIWE
 
The Objiwe People’s Dictionary: https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu
 
A Dictionary fo the Objiway Language by Nichols Baraga and John Nichols
 
QUECHUA
 
English-Quechua Dictionary created by the Institute of Education Services: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED012031, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED012031.pdf
 
Quechua-Spanish-English dictionary by Clodoalso Soto: http://www.clacs.illinois.edu/quechua/documents/QuechuaDicc.pdf
 
Live Quechua Lessons by Barry Brian Werger: http://www.ullanta.com/quechua/#livelessons
 
English to Quechua dictionary by Glosbe:  https://glosbe.com/en/qu.
 
WAYUUNAIKI
 
A translating tool based on  Basic Illustrated Dictionary; Wayuunaiki-Spanish; Spanish-Wayuunaiki (Diccionario básico ilustrado; Wayuunaiki-Español; Español-Wayuunaiki):
https://pueblosoriginarios.com/lenguas/wayuu.php
 
A Wayuunaiki to Spanish illustrated dictionary: https://www.academia.edu/9990081/DICCIONARIO_B%C3%81SICO_ILUSTRADO_WAYUUNAIKI-ESPA%C3%91OL_ESPA%C3%91OL-WAYUUNAIKI  
 
YAQUI
 
A web resource by the Native Languages of America:
http://www.native-languages.org/yaqui.htm
 

Indigenous Rights Organizations Working in Latin America Today

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As I class, we found different indigenous rights organizations working in Latin America today. Below, you can see a list of a couple indigenous rights organizations located in different Latin American countries. In addition to a description of the work the organization is doing and their mission, you can also find the link to their website and social media page.

Bolivia

Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia (CIDOB), or Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia

Website: http://www.apcbolivia.org/org/cidob.aspx
The Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia (CIDOB), or Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia was founded in 1982 and is an organization that represents 34 distinct lowland indigenous groups in Bolivia. The information about the confederation is APCBolivia, a “plurinational communications agency.” It is unclear to me whether APCBolivia is the larger non-governmental organization, and CIDOB is a chapter, or if CIDOB is its own organization. Regardless, according to the CIDOB website, at the structural level, the confederation seeks to foster unity and solidarity among indigenous peoples from different tribes, to preserve the independence of indigenous organizations from external interference, and to include indigenous women’s voices at every level of decision-making. The confederation, in how it relates to the state and the public at large, means to represent indigenous peoples and “search for their effective incorporation and participation in political, social, economic and cultural decisions” of Bolivia “in the areas of local, regional, national and international development.”
The organization’s website details its specific strategies of how it promotes these goals — since its strategies and functions are various and specific, I have not listed all of them here, but there is a subsection of the site where you can find these details. As we have studied the history of indigenous peoples in Bolivia, it may be evident why such an organization needs to exist — there needs to be economic uplift, recognition of sovereignty and land, etc.

Chile

Colectivo de Comunicación Mapuche, or the Mapuche Communication Collective

Website: http://www.mapuexpress.org/?page_id=2056
Colectivo de Comunicación Mapuche, Mapuche communication collective
This organization works definitively apart from the Chilean government in the region of La Araucanía where the majority of the Mapuche people live.  Their main purpose is as a multi-platform news source to generate indigenous consciousness throughout the region and country. Running stories in both Spanish and mapudungun, the Mapuche language spoken by over 260,000 people, the organization creates a well informed network of activists to mobilize for the Mapuche community. Their goals are explicitly stated as anti capitalist and autonomist.  

Comunidades Mapuche en Conflicto Arauco – Malleco (also known as CAM)

Website: https://www.nodo50.org/weftun/
The Comunidades Mapuche en Conflicto Arauco – Malleco (also known as CAM) is an organization of Mapuche people in Central and Southern Chile. Unlike other areas of South America, the colonization of Southern Chile was slow and more about claiming land from Argentina than from the indigenous peoples. By the time colonizers arrived in Mapuche territory in the mid 1800s, they were organized and prepared to fight. The Mapuche have continued to fight since the beginning, and never recognized the Chilean state’s authority over them, refusing the identity of “Chilean” entirely. However, the chilean state has continued to encroach on Mapuche lands. As a result of the Pinochet regime, chile has a neoliberal government system, and the government will continually sell Mapuche lands to private companies. These companies force Mapuche off their land by replanting native forests with monocultures of Pine and Eucalyptus, which destroy soils such that traditional agriculture cannot take place. CAM, under the direction of Héctor Llaitul and Ramon Llanquileo, two inimitable Mapuche organizers, has been fighting back against this environmental siege by setting fire to monoculture forests and replanting traditional farms. Although it does appear to be a powerful and unified campaign, their lack of public materials indicated that they have given up on obtaining their rights through the Chilean bureaucracy.

Colombia

The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia or ONIC)

Website: https://www.onic.org.co/
The National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia or ONIC) is an organization network for the indigenous communities of Colombia to organize and demand their political rights. As a result of their composition, the participants are representatives from various nations in Colombia and, although they recognize all the people’s different languages, all their materials are in Spanish. This group has been active in Colombia since the 1970s. The biggest threats to these organizations are the different violent actors that target them in the country, and the strong neoliberal system in place in Colombia that encourages the construction of megaprojects that endanger many of these communities. This is especially challenging in Colombia where the state’s development project align with the interests of right wing militias in the country and as a result of this deadly alliance you’ll have a case such as the current construction of Hidroituango, a major development project over mass graves of the victims of paramilitary groups.

Ecuador

Ecuador Runakunapak Rikcharimuy, or the Movement of the Indigenous People in Ecuador

Website: http://www.ecuarunari.org.ec/
The Kichwa name for this Indigenous Rights organization in Ecuador is Ecuador Runakunapak Rikcharimuy and it translates to “Movement of the Indigenous People in Ecuador” but also known as the Confederacion Kichwa del Ecuador–Ecuarunari. They are a fairly new founded organization with their founding date being 1972. The current president of the org (2016-2019) is Carlos Perez G and Kanari del Azuay. They represent politically 12 ethnic groups of the Ecuador region. In addition, it is a registered member of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Andes (CAOI).
List of what they want:

  1. Improve the living conditions of the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador and plan to do so through improvement of education, health, housing, and food security.
  2. Seek broad, democratic, equitable and conscious participation of the affiliated organizations of the Ecuarunari in the effort to ascertain the social, cultural, scientific, technological and economic development of its members.

On their website their mission statement is:
“We have built a past, we are in a present [sic], and want to continue with the future, strengthening the processes of organizational structures, and generating new expectations, such as the participation of children, young people; also, spaces for debate, gatherings of music, of peoples, to maintain life. Form new cadres, leaders and never let our organization end, but continue with the historical process.”
 

La Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA) or The Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)

Website: http://coica.org.ec/historia/
La Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA) or The Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) is an indigenous organization of international convergence that focuses its efforts on the promotion, protection and security of Indigenous peoples through the defense of their ways of life, principles and social, spiritual and cultural values. COICA was born on March 14, 1984 in the city of Lima-Peru, during the First Congress of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin, in which participated: AIDESEP, Peru; CONFENIAE, Ecuador; CIDOB, Bolivia; ONIC, Colombia; and UNI, Brazil. Within this bigger organization, AIDESEP is more specific to the region of Peru. Some of their projects include: supporting infrastructure projects, mining, and projects by the National Bank in the Brazil Amazon, conserving biodiversity and ecosystem function in the Amazon, implement programs to mitigate emissions from forestry practices, and recognition and response to growing forest loss in the Amazon.
Primary focuses of the organization include: sustainable living, land and natural resources, their own legal systems, strengthening ancestral wisdom, economic development, and systems of communication and access to technology.  

French Guiana

FOAG (Federation of Amerindian Organizations of Guiana)

Website: http://foag.over-blog.com

The FOAG (Federation of Amerindian Organizations of Guiana) aims to represent the interests of the indigenous people of French Guiana at a regional, national, and international level. French Guiana is the second-largest region of France, and due to its status as a French Territorial Collectivity it is often ignored by NGOs — as France doesn’t need aid from them. Around 9.000 indigenous persons live in Guiana (5% of the global population), among six different ethnics — the Kali’na, the Arawak, the Palikur, the Teko, the Wayāpi, and the Wayana. The FOAG defends the interests of every one of them, and its members are all native to these ethnics. The FOAG cooperates with the COICA (Confederation of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazonian Basin) to fight for indigenous rights and to promote indigenous cultures and languages in Amazonia. It is interesting to notice that all their materials are in French though. In Guiana, the FOAG fights to promote self-development and self-governance of indigenous people. The actions of the organization are mainly informative, as they spread news via their blog. Nevertheless, they regularly address officials and representatives of the government. Recently, the FOAG opposed the “Montagne d’Or” (Golden Mountain) project, a project of the exploitation of a gold mine in the North of Guiana that would have a disastrous impact on the environment.

Guatemala

The National Coordination of Widows of Guatemala (la Coordinadora Nacional de Viudas de Guatemala: CONAVIGUA)

Website: http://conavigua.tripod.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Conavigua-Guatemala-457506251121355/
The major participants of this group are Guatemalan women whose husbands were killed in the Guatemalan Civil War. The objectives of this group include food, peace, equal education, protection for widows and mothers, protection for indigenous women, socioeconomic equality, and equal rights for indigenous communities. The group also seeks integration to la Unidad de Acción Sindical y Popular (UASP), a major union organization in Guatemala. CONAVIGUA, as well as the community the organization represents, faces some serious threats, in addition to the factors that led to the creation of the group in the first place. According to the website, members of CONAVIGUA have been threatened with violence by government soldiers for speaking out.

Mexico

The Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca “Ricardo Flores Magon,” also known as CIPO-RFM

Websites:
https://intercontinentalcry.org/a-look-at-the-cipo-rfm/
http://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Popular_Indigenous_Council_of_Oaxaca_%22Ricardo_Flores_Magón%22.html
https://www.nodo50.org/cipo/
The Popular Indigenous Council of Oaxaca “Ricardo Flores Magon,” also known as CIPO-RFM, is a grassroots rights organization mostly comprised of 2,000 rural indigenous activists in Oaxaca, Mexico. Their goals include, but are not limited to, promote and defend their human and cultural rights as individuals through non-violent community-based actions for environmental conservation and basic human necessities.

Peru

Matsés Movement  

Website: http://www.matses.org/
Matsés Movement promotes tribal subsistence and economic stability for tribes in the amazon, specifically Matsés communities. The board of the NGO is entirely run by indigenous leadership. They are located in Peru, and one of the issues they are combating is that the Peruvian government gave rights to search for oil on their land to a Canadian oil company. They view this as a threat to their community’s livelihood. Further, they call attention to how government aid and infrastructure does not extend into their region, which increases the poverty of the people. They note on their website that the only government presence are teachers whose salaries are paid by the Ministry of Education. In addition to raising awareness about the encroachment on their land, this movement also wants to improve the quality of schools and living situation in this region. The major participants seem to be elected members from different Matsés communities. They speak their native language, but their website did mention that the government does support teachers giving a bilingual education. The website is primarily in English, but they do have the option on some pages to translate it into Matsés and Spanish.

The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest(La Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana or AIDESEP)

Website: http://www.aidesep.org.pe
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs8G_cAIVzIPqyrC7tK_qig
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aidesep_org?lang=es
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aidesep/
The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest(La Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana or AIDESEP) is an organization that advocates for the indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon. Their mission includes claiming the territorial integrity of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, establishing and strengthening indigenous self-governance, and further developing their indigenous economy—just to name a few. Some of their goals include solving socio-environmental conflicts, promoting indigenous women and youth, and intercultural education and healthcare. The AIDESEP has a Board of Directors, that consists of six members, each of which comes from different villages across Peru. The organization is made up of 64 indigenous groups, and despite the differing languages they may have, the website is run primarily in Spanish. Their major political struggle, or at least what they are continuously demanding from their government, is to not only receive their rights (land, bicultural education, etc.) but to be able to conserve and maintain them. The AIDESEP has a Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and further publications like pictures, videos, and articles on their website to increase their outreach in social media.

Chaikuni Institute

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/institutochaikuni
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chaikuni
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/institutochaikuni/
The Chaikuni Institute is a grassroots collective which works for a truly sustainable future for the Peruvian Amazon. The organization is located in Iquitos, Peru and according to their website they “investigate, promote, and protect” a form of life known as sumak kawsay. Sumak Kawsay translates to a “good living” in harmony with one’s communities, oneself, and most importantly, our living, breathing environment. The organization works with indigenous people in the following three operational branches: Intercultural Education, Permaculture, and Human and Nature Rights.
In terms of language, the non-profit organization predominantly uses Spanish and Quechua. This is interesting because the leadership of the organization does not consist of many indigenous people. The majority consists of immigrants from different countries such as Spain, Norway, and different African nations. In addition to the indigenous people within the organization, every member of the administration feels strongly about working to preserve the Amazonian environment. There are various threats to the ecology of the Amazon. The organization aims to overcome the ecological devastation, poverty, corruption, and cultural homogenization caused by modernization, globalization, and extractive industries.

“Casa Trans Zuleymi”

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ZULEYMITRANS/events/?ref=page_internal
Website: https://hovupipumu.jimdo.com/casa-trans-zuleymi/
Article: http://agenciapresentes.org/2017/10/23/asi-funciona-la-primera-casa-trans-peru/
A refuge home for transgender women in Peru. It is a resource center situated in Lima, that helps trans-feminine people with STI(STD) testing, DIN registration (Identification), housing, education, and mental support. They also offer assistance in filing cases of domestic abuse, discrimination, etc. In a news story about Casa Trans, it was stated that “Many of them are migrants from the jungle of Peru,” which I am assuming to mean that there must be indigenous peoples being helped too. There are awareness videos on their Facebook and they receive funding from a nonprofit based in the US.
 

Who is Indigenous? A Question of Indigeneity Throughout Latin America

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The term that has been the hardest for me to understand throughout the term is indigenous. At the beginning of this course, I heavily attributed this term to the word native, meaning originating from, as I mostly commonly associate this term to plants and herbs. However, as the term has gone on I have noticed that the meaning of indigenous varies within different countries and peoples, especially in the case studies of Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Chile we have focused on.
The piece by Andrew Canessa, “Who Is Indigenous? Self-Identification, Indigeneity, And Claims to Justice in Contemporary Bolivia”, further explores the meaning of indigenous by analyzing the complexity of indigeneity in Bolivia in terms of identification of self and entire communities.  Canessa describes how the term indigenous is heavily associated to the ideas of hunter-gatherers and nomads. Most notably the word indigenous is thought closely to stand for “primitive” in relation to the ancestors of humankind. Although this is the initial thought when discussing the term indigenous, Canessa acknowledges that who is indigenous and what it means to be indigenous throughout Latin America is complex and variable among different individuals and time.
An aspect of indigeneity could include language, specifically the language of Quechua in the case of Bolivia, but many indigenous languages throughout Latin America also contribute to this. Although language is an important factor to indigeneity, it is not a binding requirement since there are many individuals who do not speak Quechua, such as the president Evo Morales, and still identify as indigenous.  Indigeneity can also be identified through jobs worked, such as that of farming and agriculture, that also reflect social class. Plus, geographical setting was a key role to some individuals who identify as indigenous through their ties to land pre- and post-colonialism. However, it is not always the case or required as seen through the cases of migrants who have been forced off their land. One of the biggest challenges that comes with self-identification when it comes to indigeneity is the relevant political issues that rise up, since many take the identity of indigenous as a political position. As Canessa points out in this article, this brings up the question of who gets a say when discussing indigenous needs and rights if those who identify as indigenous do it in varying ways.
Defining this term is also a bit subjective in many cases, as one may wonder if the term indigenous is meant to be an inclusive or vastly exclusive term. In some areas, this word is very exclusionary since it requires the individual to be, look, live, work, and identify a certain way in order to be able to identify or be accepted as indigenous. This may leave those who do not fit these standards exactly, or at all, to be unacknowledged.
The piece “Transnational Settler Colonial Formations and Global Capital: A Consideration of Indigenous Mexican Migrants” by Lourdes Gutiérrez Nájera and Korinta Maldonado attempts to describe and understand the relationship between the migration of indigenous communities into spaces influenced by settler-colonialism. The authors discuss the underlying question of how settler-colonialism influences indigeneity in terms of social order and relations to the land. The article mentions how the migration led to a sort of “Indigenous Resurgence” among the Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Mixes people from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico into the surrounding area of Los Angeles. Specifically, the Zapotec people have been noted to have left a big impact in the city of LA, in a space that has become known as “Oaxacalifornia”, through the formation of enclaves, restaurants, and stores. Also, they even formed local organizations such as bands, basketball teams, dance groups, and festivals or parades of cultural celebration. This specifically reflects how the indigenous communities of migrants from Oaxaca, Mexico were able to develop their indigeneity even in this transnational space they found themselves in. The article analyzes the question of indigeneity through migrants who are no longer in the land their culture and way of life contributes to. But despite this, the indigenous communities of the Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Mixes people show how their indigeneity can be lived, practiced, embraced, and supported despite the distance and space they live in today.
Also, this term can serve to be inclusive in other areas, as there is no exact definition of the word, leaving it to be more general including everyone who wishes to identify this way. However, there are even some homologous terms in other countries, such as our current case study of Peru where the people prefer the term campesino, which in a sense implies indigenous descent but more importantly acknowledges a socioeconomic status. Although, there is no straightforward or single definition for the term indigenous, the themes and complexities that its understanding entails is important in order to begin, or continue understanding indigeneity as a whole.

Performative Identity: The Effects of Spanish Colonization on Indigenous Women and Society

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The theme of performative identity, an exploration of the effects of Spanish colonization on the social hierarchy of indigenous communities, can be seen in the change of family structure, rights of women, and the representation of culture. The pre-colonial indigenous social structure, in terms of family, was heavily reliant on marriage. Marriage was important to the way individuals lived in relation to their community, since the wife and husband functioned as a “unit” where they worked together and were seen as one. A great example of this structure is seen between Titiruku, an Aymara activist, and his wife Rosa Ramos where they helped each other network and find resources. However, with colonization from the Spanish, these structures and practices have shifted greatly and had the most impact on indigenous women. Post-colonialism, the Western Colonial Ideology led to “the denial of the very notion of ‘human rights’ to the female sex” in indigenous communities. As their rights began to decrease and their role grew inferior, women became a focus for reproductive use and childcare, meanwhile the role of men increased in society and in the cities, leaving women in the background.
The representation of culture through language, clothes, and jobs reflect another change in the identity of indigenous communities through the shift in the social hierarchy due to Spanish colonization. The most notable shift was the assimilating behavior by indigenous men who worked in the city since they would change both their appearance and behavior. These indigenous men would trade out their traditional clothing and for more European-styled clothes all the while speaking Spanish throughout their time in La Paz, Bolivia.  The fact that some indigenous men did change their clothes and language, or simply the fact that they were able to do that not only reflected their privilege and power in their communities, but also impacted the way indigenous women were viewed in society and their accessibility to certain jobs.
Indigenous women would wear more traditional clothing which included skirts, or polleras, that made them stand out more and, in a sense, stay stagnant in their roles. These clothing pieces were traditional and stood out as a significant factor of their indigeneity and culture, therefore it was hard for them to blend in or assimilate they way the indigenous men did. Notably, the ideas that “To the man, the profession, and to the woman, the hacienda” led indigenous women to more often than not work as artisans, in domestic service, and in commerce. Due to this ideology, indigenous women were pushed towards these jobs with a newbound society setup to keep it that way. The fact that Spanish colonialism impacted so many aspects of the performative identity of indigenous individuals is important to note and must be further discussed in order to achieve a greater understanding and appreciation of indigenous peoples and their work.
These points reflect the direct impact that Spanish colonialism had on the indigenous communities, a drastic change from what it once was. It is important to discuss this topic and bring it to light because the change in their social hierarchy also affects the way indigenous communities interact among themselves and with the rest of the country. This also includes their participation and decisions in other aspects, such as the way they assemble, their involvement in politics, and the leaders they choose or follow. By analyzing their social structure, we are able to further understand indigenous communities but also, we have the opportunity to examine how this structure has evolved within indigenous communities and whether or not it has retained the changes. Also, by gaining this new understanding, we can compare the impact on indigenous social hierarchies in other Latin American countries, not just Bolivia, that were also conquered by the Spanish empire, in order to evaluate how much the impact was and for how long it has remained.
There are various key terms that are essential to understanding, or at least beginning to understand, the impacts on indigenous communities from Spanish colonialism. The most important term to begin this analysis is discussing what colonialism is and who it has impacted in society. By recognizing the term, we can fully dive into the discussion of its impacts. Also, Indigenous feminism, on the other hand, is crucial for the realization of the roles indigenous women faced in their society through time. Due to Western Ideology, the role of indigenous women changed not only in their society but in also the one of Bolivia as a whole, and therefore it is important to acknowledge the need to support of these women, not necessarily all since other women were relieved of certain jobs that they pressed upon indigenous women instead. The term ayllu remains significant as well because the idea of community has adapted and been modified throughout time, both pre and post colonialism reaching even towards the way it is viewed today.

Indigeneity & Hip-Hop in La Paz, Bolivia

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This documentary brings to the spotlight hip-hop/rap in Bolivia from groups such as Wayna Rap (which translates to Aymara to English to “Young Rap.”) The documentary explores how hip-hop and the community created by the youth of La Paz serves as a way to empower the youth. The use of hip-hop and rap to build and create positive messages and bolster the self-esteem of the youth and embrace their indigenous roots/identity. It touches on ways that this group of artists has been able to help change the racist and discriminatory narratives that are so commonplace in El Alto, Bolivia. It helps re-establish a link to indigenous Bolivian youth’s indigenous identity in a national context; they find a way to embrace their indigeneity in a day in age where media outlets and political discourse paints them as the cold sore of society. As the director of the cultural center Wayna Tambo, Santos Callejas, puts it, society labels them the “chronic red” in reference to the violence that plagues the youth of El Alto. Additionally, they are very open to celebrating and recognizing indigeneity by creating music and rapping in their indigenous tongue of Aymara. Where public school and institutions in Bolivia fail in recognizing and giving legitimacy to indigenous practices and language, Wayna Tambo offers a viable and inclusive environment to do so in a self-expressive and entertaining way.
Moreover, the cultural center, Wayna Tambo, serves as a hub for these kids to find and create their own space for self-expression and safety. Having a radio station as well, they’re able to spread their platform far beyond the confines of El Alto and can reach a broader audience with their message. They speak on outside influences that they draw on in the U.S as they stand in solidarity with places like The Bronx, NY that are also stricken by poverty and crime. Thus, artists in the U.S have risen and raised awareness to oppressive systems and injustices they face. They make note of artists such as Mos Def, Dead Prez, and Immortal Technique whom all have a unifying theme in that they speak of social justice and call out the systems put in place to oppress and suppress impoverished communities, specifically African-American communities. I found it particularly interesting because I like to think hip-hop and freestyling are a form of storytelling and a method of coping. These young artists can channel the energy and emotions they keep stored up and are able to raise consciousness and awareness to the present, everyday realities and struggles they go through. Through this, they are able to resonate with each other and create strong social networks of support, as well as create a universal message and relate to struggles that span farther than just their local communities in La Paz. Through this art form, the youth are able to redefine themselves and fight back the negative stereotypes of the youth (specifically indigenous youth) in La Paz, Bolivia, and find an escape in the music. It serves as a community and space for youth that are affected by poverty in their neighborhoods as a positive outlet and to keep the youth from falling into the cycle of crime that affects so many of the kids of La Paz.
Linked below is a playlist I compiled of the 3 part series documentary created by: Eli Breitburg-Smith and Meredith Webb.