Tag: indigeneity

The Legacy of White Supremacy on Indigeneity

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Colorism is an issue prevalent within Latin American society that affects many darker-skinned folk living in the region. Specifically, colorism is a prevalent issue within Indigenous communities. In efforts to deconstruct and solidify the definition or requirements of indigeneity, we must first define the impact of colonialism on anti-blackness in Indigenous communities. Societal systems in the Americas have been forced with anti-blackness mindsets since the implementation of extractive and settler colonialism types. As a group that had to give up their autonomy in order to exist, Indigenous peoples were also subject to such mindsets. To subject indigeneity as an exclusive group is to erase that identity to non-standard groups such as Black people. However, this raises the question about how indigeneity should be measured in order to remain authentic and legitimate.
In the chapter titled “Dangerous Decolonizing: Indians and Blacks and the Legacy of Jim Crow,” Brian Klopotek  discusses the main points of reshaping the Indian methodologies that present indigeneity as a heterogenous group rather than an entity whose boundaries are blurred. Also, they argue that race must be included more broadly in Indian studies, as one legacy of white supremacy within the Indigenous premise is anti blackness and need to seperate themselves from other minorities, but especially any blackness.
The focus groups of this chapter was based on the Tunica-Biloxi group, the Choctaw Indians, and especially the Clifton-Choctaw who are the only group among the three that are not federally-recognized. In terms of the Clifton-Choctaw, the anti blackness is especially prevalent when discussing their modes of strategy for trying to get federal approval of their group legitimacy. This case is especially concerning when taking into account their geographical location, Louisiana, which is known to have a large Black population. Given that Indigenous groups had to constantly advocate for themselves to garner rights and some autonomy apart from being a minority, in context, it is not surprising that they tried to distance themselves as having any relationship to Black people.
As the Jim Crow Era made it so people had to abide by the clear and set distinction of Black and white people, it left other minorities, like the Indigenous communities, to adopt both silent and loud anti-blackness in order to be seperated from Black people and survive within white superiority. In order to send their children to better schools, be eligible for better jobs, and be taken seriously among their decolonization efforts, Indigenous people denied any blackness within their communities. Although a survival tactic, Indigenous people were complicit in the oppression of Black people, as they maintained the belief that being Black was being at the bottom.
In bringing forth the issue to the public, the writer hopes to decolonize the indian methodologies that try to seperate themselves from blackness. It is an attribute of indigeneity to be able to encompass multiple ethnicities, meaning Indigenous people may be light or dark and still identify through that native label. Therefore, indigeneity, although broad, is one step closer to defining itself once measuring their inclusion of Black people, or Black ancestry.
Written by the Government of Bolivia in 1900, “The Slow and Gradual Disappearance of the Indigenous Race” classifies four races and their attributes. The Bolivian government distinguishes the races as white, mestizo, black, and Indian. The white race is seen as the superior race, which the government includes Bolivians as part of this group. Therefore, true Bolivians are apparently white, while mestizos include those like cholos. The government states that cholos are still superior to Indigenous people, but below Bolivians due to their respectability. The Black race is then formed by former ancestral slaves or people from countries like Brazil who make up a very “insignificant” amount of the population and are in competition with mulattos. The system places mulattos above Black people, although both groups are on the bottom of the privilege scale. These chapter excerpts detail the labeling of race that Indigenous peoples were subject to and therefore had to navigate in order to obtain rights and better means of life. As the white race, or the civilians of that nation, compared Black people with Indigenous people, it was dangerous to them to accept such relationship because it would mean a permanent bottom order in society, which is what Black people have historically suffered. Although white supremacy and racism made it hard for Indigenous groups to navigate their way through a better societal order, one cannot deny their role in practicing and helping cement the belief that Black people are the bottom of society and therefore one must distinguish themselves from them and any blackness among them.
Similar because it shows a perspective of the elitist group trying to change the requirements to be labeled as Indigenous in order to erase their legitimacy, This threat has possibly made it so indians are more likely to hold their methodology of race consolidation more firmly to legitimize their group
https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-bolivia-reader
https://muse-jhu-edu.ezproxy.carleton.edu/book/16159/

Intersectionality

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Intersectionality: Why Aren’t Indigenous Peoples of African Descent Discussed in Conversations Regarding Indigeneity?

When most think of indigenous people (especially those in Latin America), indigenous people who also have African heritage are not a part of the conversation. Specifically, in our class where we discussed a variety of different indigenous rights and issues, Afro-Indigeneity was not a topic we discussed until a few students voiced their thoughts on the lack of such content. And even then, the discussion was brief and only a limited amount of sources were provided as course materials (at no fault of the professor). While indigenous people in Latin America are a marginalized and oppressed group, the Afro-Latinx/Indigenous community is marginalized within the already marginalized group– much like how African American or Black people are oppressed and marginalized in the United States and queer Black people are marginalized within the Black community.
What Afro-Indigenous people are deprived of is their ability to be indigenous. As Avi Chomsky and Cindy Forster express in their 2006 article “Who Is Indigenous? Who Is Afro-Colombian? Who Decides?”, people who claim both African and indigenous heritage are not recognized as both African and indigenous because they are considered “peasants” and are “defined . . . as “a group of families of African descent that possesses its own culture, shares a history, and has its own traditions and customs . . . who demonstrate and conserve a consciousness of their identity that distinguishes them from other ethnic groups”. In other words, Afro-Colombian people are their own separate group/ethnicity and are thus excluded from indigenous communities. They must pick one identity over the other and many times that identity is chosen for them; fore, Afro-Indigenous people are not indigenous to many people because of their African heritage– they are Afro-whatever (whatever referring to the Latin American country in which African-descended people live/populate).
Afro-Indigenous peoples are excluded from indigenous conversations just as it is difficult for indigenous women to be a part of the same discussions. They have to prove themselves in ways that other indigenous people do not; and yet, Afro-Indigenous people are still not considered members of indigenous communities. They are not allowed to have more than one identity. They must be what their country and society dictate they are.
This is to say that not all Afro-Latinx American people are of indigenous descent and are shunned or excluded from the communities, but the fact remains that there is a lack of scholarship on Afro-Indigenous people and their inclusion in indigenous communities.
 

Works Cited

Chomsky, Avi, and Cindy Forster. “Who Is Indigenous? Who Is Afro-Colombian? Who Decides?”
Cultural Survival. December 2006. Accessed June 2019. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/who-indigenous-who-afro-colombian-who-decides.
McGrath, Elena. “The Indian Question.” Indigenous Rights in Latin America, Carleton College,
Northfield, MN, April 5, 2019
Postero, Nancy Grey, and Leon Zamosc. “Introduction: Indigenous Movements and the Indian
Question in Latin America.” In The Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Latin America, 1-31. Sussex Academic Press, 2012.

Indigeneity and Land

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One of the things that came to mind when reading the readings this week was what it means to be indigenous. The reason that this is something that I thought about frequently was because of what we read in Now Peru Is Mine by Manuel Mitma Llamojha and Jaymie Patricia Heilman. Llamojha explains on pages 11-12 about how he prefers to describe himself as a campesino versus calling himself Indian, Quechua, Aymara, or even indigenous. Although, the author does say, “His understanding of what it means to be a campesino is one that melds ethnic, class, and historical identities, and he is both passionate and explicit about his indigeneity.”1 It’s interesting that he chooses to use a social-economic label to describe himself. Although, it’s worth noting that he denounces the word “indian”, Llamojha says:
“Discrimination began when the Spanish took America. They categorized all the natives of the continent as ‘Indians,’ as people of another country, another world. I always felt proud when they called ‘Indian.’ When Christopher Columbus came to America, he thought that all the inhabitants of America from India. So I was proud when they said ‘Indian’ to me, because that meant I was from India.”2
This reminded me of conversations with my father who spoke to me of the remnants of indigenous lifestyle in his home pueblo of Pomoca, Michoacán. While he also shared the same sentiments about the use of the word “indio” or “indian” to describe himself as someone who comes from indigenous descent, he preferred to call himself a “campesino”, but used the two terms fairly interchangeably. His rationale for this was that as a Mexican with indigenous roots, he also resonated with the idea that being called “indian” further carried on a legacy of colonialism. While my father never explicitly said this, he felt it was wrong to call his fellow indigenous Mexican people with the incorrect name because they indeed weren’t from India, and therein lies a form of belittling and taking away from the strength and pride there is in indigeneity, and having colonizers rename and stick a name onto a people.
On a different note, the reason he strongly resonated with the word campesino was the fact that he felt that as a farmer, he saw the agricultural component, the physical labor that came with the lifestyle, and the spiritual connection to the land, as a means to fulfill the needs of his people were far more important than what demarcated him as indigenous, or “indio”, in geographic and racial terms. Just because he was darker skinned than other people in his pueblo and just because he didn’t live in the urbanized parts of Michoacan wasn’t what deemed him indigenous or being of indigenous descent. I think this proves to be a very valuable insight as to what it means to be indigenous. There’s merit in the work of cultivating land and creating a lifestyle and whole community based around that labor. It weaves together societies, fortifies relationships, gives these communities capital and a means of creating and contributing to national commerce. While most of the customs, language, and religions of that my dad said were forgotten and lost over the years, the land they owned and cultivated over generations were their claim to a past that is out of reach.
I think the thoughts that my dad had about indigeneity also find themselves expressed in the thoughts that Llamojha’s words and beliefs as well. As a result of his upbringing on an hacienda and being of indigenous descent, he also lived a life of extraneous labor and knew that the land was an integral part of indigenous people’s lives and identities. A lot of the denunciations he made were always tied to land. Whether it was unfair treatment and unjust labor conditions/hours for campesinos or the acquisition and claiming of lands that belonged to campesinos; all these are rooted in the lands that were owned by the people.
Hence, why the preservation of land, and moreover, the owning of these lands by the people that have been there for centuries, is arguably the most important component to indigenous rights. While my father himself didn’t unfairly lose lands at any point, he often points to the injustices American settlers imposed upon the Mexican people through the taking of lands above the current U.S border. So, he used that often times to describe a more universal struggle of the indigenous people we have been reading about that often had their lands unjustly taken, by coercion or by force. It brings us time and time again to the discourse over land and the claims that indigenous people have to them outside of the jurisdiction of the law that is often created thereafter only to tear indigenous people from the lands.
Works Cited
1. Mitma, Manuel Llamojha, and Jaymie Patricia Heilman. Now Peru Is Mine: The Life and times of a Campesino Activist. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016. 11-12.
2. Mitma, Manuel Llamojha, and Jaymie Patricia Heilman. Now Peru Is Mine: The Life and times of a Campesino Activist. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016. 11-12.

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.