Recent decades have witnessed an efflorescence of identity construction and activism of indigenous peoples throughout the world. In the process, a multiplicity of indigenous actors has emerged with new discourses and strategies seeking transformative changes to their inherent rights and representation. In their complex projects of self-affirmation to overcome political and economic marginalisation, the indigenous peoples are deploying culture as an important resource. No doubt, the resultant indigenous activism and the manner in which it is played out vary from country to country.
Indigenous Identity and Activism captures the broad contours of the resurgent indigenous movements in select countries-Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. Renowned scholars on the subject offer their insightful reflections on the ways in which the activists and the movements have created a space for promoting indigenous cultural reproduction and identity reconstruction.
Dr. Priti Singh is Assistant Professor in the Centre for Canadian, US and Latin American Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Besides a book titled Governance of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America (2002), she has published a number of short monographs. Recipient of Australia India Council's Senior Fellowship (2003), and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute's Canadian Studies Faculty Research Fellowship (2008) she had been engaged in research on indigenous communities. Dr. Singh is Member, Editorial Advisory Board for Thesis Eleven: Critical Theory and Historical Sociology (Sage: London, Delhi, Thousand Oaks, Ca.) and Member, Editorial Board, Australian Perspectives, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: Studying Indigenous Identity and Activism; Priti Singh
2. The Return of the Native: The Indigenous Challenge in Latin America; Rodolfo Stavenhagen
3. Identity, Indigenous Insurrections and 'A Different Equality'; Carlos Montemayor
4. Crisis and Reinvention: The Redefinition of Indigenous Identities in Contemporary Mexico; Federico Navarrete Linares
5. Contemporary Indigenous Politics in Brazil: Three Modes of Indigenous Political Performance; João Pacheco de Oliveira
6. Indigenous Identity and Activism in Brazil After the Federal Constitution of 1988; Stephen G. Baines
7. Assimilation Agendas of the State: What Space Remains for Aboriginal Law and Culture?; Irene Watson
8. Fear and Outrage: The 'Problem', the Politics, and the National Emergency in Australia; Peter Gale
9. Changing Patterns of Language Socialization in Inuit Homes; Martha B. Crago, Betsy Annahatak and Lizzie Ningiuruvik
10. Borders and Aboriginal Identity Construction in Canada: Everyday, Cultural, Legal, and Political Activisms; Margery Fee
11. Indigenizing Human Rights: First Nations, Self-Determination, and Cultural Identity; Ashwani K. Peetush
Bibliography
Contributors
Index