Political Science Indigenous Politics and Representation in Latin America
by
Miguel Centellas
  • LAST REVIEWED: 13 July 2020
  • LAST MODIFIED: 29 November 2018
  • DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0253

Introduction

There is surprisingly limited political science scholarship on indigenous political participation and representation in Latin America, per se. While research on Latin America’s indigenous peoples has experienced a boom in recent years—and has long been a staple among anthropologists and sociologists—most of that work takes a decidedly cultural, rather than institutional, approach. That is, there are relatively few works on “ethnic parties” (their electoral performance, their role in legislatures, etc.) of the kind familiar to those who study ethnic politics in India or Europe. Moreover, the existing literature is heavily concentrated in a handful of country cases. This presents a tremendous opportunity for future scholarship, as well as a challenge. The challenges derive primarily from the lack of data on many basic indicators of indigenous participation and representation beyond the aggregate level or from ethnographic studies. Another challenge comes from the thorny issue of how to address mestizaje (the centuries-old blending of European and indigenous cultures) which complicates racial and ethnic categories that drive most theories about “ethnic” politics. The fact that most Latin American countries have overwhelmingly mestizo majorities—and few have sizeable geographically concentrated indigenous communities—also complicate things. A key way in which political scientists have tended to study “ethnic” political participation and representation has been through the study of “ethnic” parties, which are rare in Latin America. Additionally, much of the scholarship on ethnic political mobilization has tended to focus on “successful” cases like Bolivia and Ecuador or cases with vibrant indigenous movements like Mexico or Guatemala, with few studies of ethnic or indigenous politics in other countries, especially countries with very small indigenous populations, such as Brazil or Argentina.

General Overviews

There has been growing attention to the role of indigenous people in Latin American politics. Although much of the scholarship tends to focus on a handful of standout cases, scholarship that takes a comparative perspective has been strong. Two excellent general overviews of the increasing presence of indigenous peoples in politics are Van Cott 2010 and Rice 2015. Kicza 1999 provides a good anthology that provides context for understanding indigeneity in Latin America.

  • Kicza, John E., ed. The Indian in Latin American History: Resistance, Resilience, and Acculturation. Wilmington, DE: SR Books, 1999.

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    Anthology providing a broad, interdisciplinary introduction to the historical and cultural context of indigeneity in Latin America since the colonial period.

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  • Rice, Roberta. “Indigenous Mobilization and Democracy in Latin America.” In Latin American Democracy: Emerging Reality or Endangered Species? Edited by Richard L. Millet, Jennifer S. Holmes, and Orlando J. Pérez. New York: Routledge, 2015.

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    Chapter-length general overview of indigenous political mobilization in Latin America, focusing on how indigenous peoples interact with the political party system in various countries. Rice concludes that indigenous political mobilization is a positive contribution to democracy in the region.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. “Indigenous Peoples’ Politics in Latin America.” Annual Review of Political Science 13 (2010): 385–405.

    DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.032708.133003Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Excellent article-length summary of the state of research on indigenous peoples in Latin America by the pre-eminent scholar on the subject of her generation. Van Cott ends with recommendation to increase the discipline’s scope beyond the “successful” cases to studies of cases with smaller, more marginal indigenous peoples, as well as to better integrate the studies of indigenous, Afro-Latin, and gender politics.

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Indigenous Movements

Most of the literature on indigenous politics in Latin America focuses on broader indigenous movements, rather than specific indigenous parties. Largely, this is because although there have been few successful and/or long-lasting ethnic indigenous parties, a number of indigenous movements have been successful and enduring. Rice 2012, Van Cott 2005 (cited under Indigenous Parties and Electoral Politics), Warren and Jackson 2002, and Yashar 2007 compare indigenous movements in countries from across Latin America. Andersen 2010 stretches further, comparing indigenous movements across the Americas, which includes Canada and the United States. Rousseau and Morales Hudon 2016 draws attention to the important role of women in indigenous movements.

  • Andersen, Martin E. Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the Indigenous Challenge in “Latin” America. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2010.

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    Directly compared Latin American indigenous movements and their strategies with those used by native peoples in the United States and Canada on a broad range of political, cultural, and economic issues. Uses metaphor of “miner’s canary” and indigenous peoples as the “last frontier” of decolonization and democratization in the Americas. Chapters on Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Chile, and Colombia. Foreword by Robert A. Pastor.

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  • Rice, Roberta. The New Politics of Protest: Indigenous Mobilization in Latin America’s Neoliberal Era. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012.

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    Discussion of recent rise in indigenous political activism across Latin America using a historical institutionalist analysis of contentious politics in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Rice concludes that indigenous mobilization was more successful in countries with weaker left/labor organizations.

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  • Rousseau, Stéphanie, and Anahi Morales Hudon. Indigenous Women’s Movements in Latin America: Gender and Ethnicity in Peru, Mexico, and Bolivia. London: Springer, 2016.

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    A comparative study of indigenous women’s movements in three key cases. Focuses on the role played by women in indigenous movements and how gender and indigeneity are combined.

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  • Warren, Kay B., and Jean E. Jackson. Indigenous Movements, Self-Representation, and the State in Latin America. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.

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    Study of the way indigenous peoples respond to state violence, focusing on three cases in which indigenous movements have not coalesced into “successful” political parties, but have nevertheless achieved important gains: Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil.

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  • Yashar, Deborah J. Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

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    Important study of the rise of indigenous movements in Latin America from the starting point of state-society relations, and the consequences of the historical legacies of state formation in countries with large indigenous populations. Although case study chapters focus on Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, Yashar frames the work in comparison to Mexico and Guatemala, two other cases with large indigenous populations.

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Indigenous Parties and Electoral Politics

The emergence of ethnic indigenous parties in some countries, but not others, has been an important puzzle. Perhaps the best contribution to date is Madrid 2012, which includes discussions of smaller less successful parties beyond the author’s core cases. Although Rice and Van Cott 2006 focuses on the Andes, their use of a large-N quantitative approach remains methodologically innovative and has application beyond that region. Van Cott 2003 focuses on the relationship between electoral institutional reforms and the emergence of indigenous ethnic parties. Htun 2016 looks at the effect one such specific reform: the use of “reserved seats.” Notable article-length analyses of the role of ethnicity on electoral politics include Birnir and Van Cott 2007, Madrid 2005a, and Madrid 2005b. Organization of American States 2007 looks at how indigenous peoples are incorporated into political parties and the party system.

  • Birnir, Johanna K., and Donna L. Van Cott. “Disunity in Diversity: Party System Fragmentation and the Dynamic Effect of Ethnic Heterogeneity on Latin American Legislatures.” Latin American Research Review 42.1 (2007): 99–125.

    DOI: 10.1353/lar.2007.0000Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Statistical analysis of the relationship between ethnic fractionalization and political party fragmentation in the legislature. Includes short case studies of the new relationship between ethnicity and political parties in Ecuador and Bolivia.

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  • Htun, Mala. Inclusion without Representation in Latin America: Gender Quotas and Ethnic Reservations. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016.

    DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139021067Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    An excellent comparative study of the similarities and differences between ethnic and gender representation reforms, particularly gender quotas and ethnic or indigenous “reserved” seats. The volume traces the evolution of minority inclusion policies, paying careful attention to the causes and consequences of different paths to such policies.

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  • Madrid, Raúl. “Indigenous Parties and Democracy in Latin America.” Latin American Politics & Society 47.4 (2005a): 161–179.

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    An optimistic view of the consequences of the rise of indigenous parties and ethnic voting in Latin America. Madrid argues that the recent inclusion of indigenous voters into the formal party system is a net positive for democracy, both in the short and long term.

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  • Madrid, Raúl. “Indigenous Voters and Party Fragmentation in Latin America.” Electoral Studies 24.4 (2005b): 689–707.

    DOI: 10.1016/j.electstud.2005.02.005Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Analysis of the reason why countries with high indigenous populations have high electoral volatility, as indigenous voters feel unrepresented by traditional parties, shifting their support to new leftist parties. The paper includes subnational statistical analysis of Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Peru.

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  • Madrid, Raúl L. The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Latin America. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

    DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139022590Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Blending the literatures on ethnic parties and populism, Madrid considers how ethnic indigenous mobilization in Latin America is tempered by the reality of mestizaje. Madrid credits the success of “ethnopopulist” parties in Bolivia and Ecuador to their broad, populist appeal, in comparison to the narrow ethnic appeals of similar movements in Peru. In addition to chapter case studies of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, the book also has lengthy discussions of indigenous movements in Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

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  • Organization of American States (OAS). La inclusión de los pueblos indígenas en los partidos políticos: Análisis de situación y perspectivas en América Latina. Washington, DC: Organización de los Estados Americanos, Programa de Valores Democráticos y Gerencia Política, 2007.

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    Collection of reports on the inclusion of indigenous political actors into national party systems and/or their incorporation into traditional parties.

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  • Rice, Roberta, and Donna Lee Van Cott. “The Emergence and Performance of Indigenous Peoples’ Parties in South America: A Subnational Statistical Analysis.” Comparative Political Studies 39.6 (2006): 709–732.

    DOI: 10.1177/0010414005285036Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Sophisticated analysis using subnational data from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela to explore what factors explain variation in the emergence and performance of indigenous parties. Rice and Van Cott find that indigenous party success is largely shaped by institutional, demographic, and political factors.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. “Institutional Change and Ethnic Parties in South America.” Latin American Politics & Society 24.4 (2003): 689–707.

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    Links the rise of indigenous parties to institutional reforms of the 1990s, which opened space up for ethnic parties. However, the analysis concludes that institutional reform is a necessary, but not sufficient, cause.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. From Movements to Parties in Latin America: The Evolution of Ethnic Parties. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

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    Seminal work that examines why indigenous peoples’ movements successfully evolve into ethnic parties in some countries but were unable to do so in others. Based on comparative case studies of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela.

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Afro-Indigenous Groups and Movements

An important dimension of indigenous politics and political movements in many countries is the complicated role of Afro-Latin peoples. While in some countries, Afro-Latin populations identify themselves in ways that resemble Africa-American identity in the United States, in many countries Afro-descendant peoples identify as indigenous people in various ways. Hooker 2008 provides a good overview of the complex relationship between indigenous and Afro-descendant identities. One particular case is the Garifuna, an ethnic group made up of a mix of Afro-descendant and indigenous Caribbean indigenous identities that is found across Central America and the Caribbean. Anderson 2009 provides an excellent overview of the Garifuna in Honduras and Pineda 2006 discusses the Garifuna (and similar groups) in Nicaragua. In a ground-breaking book, Miki 2018 looks at how indigenous and black identities “merged” in frontier Brazil.

  • Anderson, Mark. Black and Indigenous: Garifuna Activism and Consumer Culture in Honduras. University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

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    Ethnography of the Garifuna, an ethnic identity in Honduras (and across Central America) that originates from a mix of African and Caribbean Amerindian peoples, but that presents itself politically as an indigenous people within the Honduran context.

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  • Hooker, Juliet. “Indigenous Inclusion/Black Exclusion: Race, Ethnicity, and Multicultural Citizenship in Latin America.” Journal of Latin American Studies 37.2 (2008): 285–310.

    DOI: 10.1017/S0022216X05009016Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Comparison of the different abilities of indigenous and Afro-Latin inclusion peoples to win recognition and representational policies in Latin America. Hooker concludes that the deciding factor is not group size, but rather the level of institutionalization of group cultural identity.

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  • Miki, Yuko. Frontiers of Citizenship: A Black and Indigenous History of Postcolonial Brazil. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

    DOI: 10.1017/9781108277778Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    History of indigenous and black peoples in Brazil that challenge the conventional wisdom that Brazil’s indigenous people “disappeared.” Drawing important comparisons with Garifuna studies in the Caribbean.

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  • Pineda, Baron L. Shipwrecked Identities: Navigating Race on Nicaragua’s Mosquito Coast. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2006.

    DOI: 10.2307/j.ctt5hj296Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Critical ethnographic history of ethnic identities along Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast. Pineda draws on the history of shipwrecked Africans and the presence of other groups, such as the Garifuna, to challenge primordialist views of ethnic identity in the region.

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Anthologies

There are a number of good anthologies on indigenous politics in Latin America, some of which include contributions on understudied cases. Bejarano, et al. 2013 and Potthast, et al. 2015 offer broad multidisciplinary perspectives. Others are more focused: the essays in Fischer 2009 are framed around the concept of civil society while the essays in Sieder 2002 are framed around the question of multiculturalism. Excellent essays on “new” indigenous movements that emerged since the 1980s are available in Langer and Muñoz 2003 and Van Cott 1994. The Organization of American States (OAS) produces numerous reports, two of which are noteworthy: Organization of American States 2013 reports on the status of indigenous peoples in OAS-member states. Maybury-Lewis 2003 offers a useful anthropological perspective on the politics of ethnicity.

  • Bejarano, Eric Javier, Marc-André Grebe, David Grewe, and Nadja Lobensteiner, eds. Movilizando etnicidad: Políticas de identidad en contienda en las Américas. Madrid: Iberoamericana, 2013.

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    Collection of essays on ethnic identity and mobilization in the Americas from a variety of perspectives ranging from colonial historical roots and contemporary international human rights law. Countries discussed include Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Colombia.

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  • Cleary, Edward L., and Timothy J. Steigenga, eds. Resurgent Voices in Latin America: Indigenous Peoples, Political Mobilization, and Religious Change. New Burnswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004.

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    This collection of essays studies the rise of indigenous movements in Latin America by focusing on the role of religion in society. The chapters cover Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Mexico and look a wide range of issues, including the resurgence of traditional religious practices, how religious and political activism interact, and how Christian churches appeal to indigenous peoples.

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  • Fischer, Edward F. ed. Indigenous Peoples, Civil Society, and the Neo-Liberal State in Latin America. New York: Berghahn Books, 2009.

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    Collection of essays on the relationship between the state and indigenous peoples in Latin America during the 1990s. The volume takes a nuanced and critical approach to both civil society and indigenous identity. Chapters cover Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

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  • Langer, Erick, and Elena Muñoz, eds. Contemporary Indigenous Movements in Latin America. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 2003.

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    One of the earliest and broadest collection of essays on the “new” indigenous movements that emerged in the wake of Latin America’s “third wave” of democracy. In addition to country chapters on Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Guatemala, the collection includes interviews with indigenous leaders from Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile.

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  • Maybury-Lewis, David, ed. The Politics of Ethnicity: Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003.

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    Collection of anthropological chapters on relationship between indigenous peoples and Latin American states at the turn-of-the-millennium. Country chapters on Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil tend to focus on more “marginal” ethnic groups.

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  • Organization of American States. Democracia y Participación Política de los Pueblos Indígenas. Washington, DC: Organization of American States, 2013.

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    Collective report on the state of indigenous peoples in OAS member states and within the OAS itself, from an international human rights perspective. Chapters are organized thematically, rather than by country.

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  • Postero, Nancy Grey, and Leon Zamozc, eds. The Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Latin America. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2006.

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    Collection of essays on the rise of indigenous social movements across Latin America with a focus on the choice to pursue equal status as (individual) national citizens, or special (collective) rights as indigenous peoples. Country chapters include Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.

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  • Potthast, Barbara, Christian Büschges, Wolfgang Gabbert, Silke Hensel, and Olaf Kaltmeier, eds. Dinámicas de Inclusión y exclusión en América Latina: Conceptos y prácticas de etnicidad, ciudadanía y pertenencia. Madrid: Iberoamericana, 2015.

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    Collection of essays primarily by European-based scholars discusses state responses to multiethnic identity in the Americas (and beyond) covering a broad historical and conceptual range.

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  • Sieder, Rachel, ed. Multiculturalism in Latin America: Indigenous Rights, Diversity, and Democracy. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

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    Collection of essays on multiculturalism in the Andes and Mesoamerica and the link between indigenous organizations and politics in the region. Several chapters offer broad context for the region, with specific country chapters on Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee, ed. Indigenous Peoples and Democracy in Latin America. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

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    Collection of chapters addressing issues facing indigenous peoples and the state in Latin America across a broad range of cases and perspectives. Countries covered include: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, and Paraguay.

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Mexico

One of the largest countries in Latin America, Mexico is home to the Zapatistas, who emerged as one of the most visible “new” indigenous movements in Latin America after their dramatic military offensive across Chiapas in January 1994. Jung 2008 traces the evolution of the Zapatistas from Marxist revolutionary movement into an “indigenous” movement. Moksnes 2012 gives a bottom-up approach, looking at how rural indigenous communities in Chiapas moved toward Zapatista activism. Mora 2017 looks at how Zapatista communities “work” in practice. In recent years, more attention has been given to multicultural policies in Oaxaca, where local governments implemented traditional indigenous “usos y costumbres” (“uses and customs”) as governing instruments and legal frameworks. Anaya 2006 and the contributions in Hernández-Diaz 2007 provide excellent overviews. Eisenstadt 2011 and De Leon Pasquel 2001 compare the cases of Chiapas and Oaxaca. De Grammont and Mackinlay 2006 provides a historical perspective on indigenous movements across the 20th century.

  • Anaya, Alejandro. Autonomía indígena, gobernabilidad y legitimidad en México: La legalización de los usos y costumbres electorales en Oaxaca. Mexico City: Universidad Iberoamericana, 2006.

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    Analysis of economic and political factors that shape the indigenous movement in the state of Oaxaca. Anaya concludes that the growth in indigenous beliefs and practices is largely driven by indigenous mobilization against the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), not deeply embedded cultural cleavages.

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  • De Grammont, Hubert C., and Horacio Mackinlay. “Las organizaciones sociales campesinas e indígenas frente a los partidos políticos y el Estado, México 1938–2006.” Revista Mexicana de Sociología 68.4 (2006): 693–729.

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    Historical overview of 20th century indigenous movements in Mexico categorized into three models corresponding to different historical periods: corporatism, relative autonomy, direct democracy.

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  • De Leon Pasquel, Lourdes, coord. Costumbres, leyes y movimiento indio en Oaxaca y Chiapas. Mexico City: Miguel Angel Porrúa, 2001.

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    Collection of essays on the role cultural customs in shaping the political institutions of indigenous politics in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, with critical assessment of the implications for Mexican indigenous movements at the local and national levels.

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  • Eisenstadt, Todd A. Politics, Identity, and Mexico’s Indigenous Rights Movement. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

    DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511976544Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Comprehensive overview of issues involving indigenous movements and politics in Mexico. Analysis of the differences in outcomes in two key Mexican states: Zapatista revolution in Chiapas and bottom-up multiculturalism in Oaxaca. Eisenstadt also explores the tension between liberal and communitarian concepts of rights in the implementation of “usos y costumbres” in predominantly indigenous municipalities in Oaxaca.

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  • Hernández-Diaz, Jorge, coord. Ciudadanías diferenciadas en un estado multicultural: Los usos y costumbres en Oaxaca. Mexico City: Siglo XXI, 2007.

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    Collection of essays on the cultural politics surrounding the institutionalization of indigenous “usos y costumbres” politics in post-Zapatista Oaxaca.

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  • Jung, Courtney. The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics: Critical Liberalism and the Zapatistas. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

    DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511551222Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Discussion of the transition from an emphasis on social class to indigenous identity within the Zapatista movement and critical analysis of the strategic use (and limitations) of indigenous identity as a force for political mobilization. Important for understanding how an originally Marxist revolutionary movement became one of the leading advocates for indigenous rights in Mexico.

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  • Moksnes, Heidi. Maya Exodus: Indigenous Struggle for Citizenship in Chiapas. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2012.

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    Deep ethnographic study of a Mayan community as they gradually moved through liberation theology into support for Zapatista activism.

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  • Mora, Mariana. Kuxlejal Politics: Indigenous Autonomy, Race, and Decolonizing Research in Zapatista Communities. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017.

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    Political ethnography of autonomous indigenous Zapatista communities in the state of Chiapas. Provides a detailed view of indigenous politics at the micro level.

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Central America

The historical development of indigenous politics in Central America is one of the most complicated in the region. Vibrant, if electorally unsuccessful, movements in Guatemala stand in sharp contrast with cases like Costa Rica or El Salvador, where indigenous movements are far less visible. Anderson 2009, cited under Afro-Indigenous Groups and Movements, provides a useful introduction to the Garifuna, an established ethnic identity with roots in the blending of African and Caribbean indigenous peoples in the colonial era and can be found across the region. The impact of the region’s civil wars on questions of ethnic identity are discussed in Hale 1996 and DeLugan 2012. Tilly 2005 explores the “invisibility” of indigenous peoples in the case of El Salvador. The political emergence of indigenous groups in Panama is discussed by Howe 2002 and Horton 2006. Wainwright and Bryan 2009 explores the politics of territorial mapping in Belize and Nicaragua. There is also a useful chapter on Belize in Forte 2006, cited under The Caribbean.

  • DeLugan, Robin Maria. Reimagining National Belonging: Post-Civil War El Salvador in a Global Context. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012.

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    A broad overview of nation-building in post-conflict El Salvador. One of the four thematic chapters focuses on indigenous political identity.

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  • Hale, Charles R. “Mestizaje, Hybridity, and the Cultural Politics of Difference in Post-Revolutionary Central America.” Journal of Latin American Anthropology 2.1 (1996): 34–61.

    DOI: 10.1525/jlca.1996.2.1.34Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Good overview of the challenges for indigenous identity politics in post-conflict Central America. Compares the cases of Miskitu peoples in Nicaragua and Mayan communities in Guatemala.

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  • Horton, Lynn. “Contesting State Multiculturalisms: Indigenous Land Struggles in Eastern Panama.” Journal of Latin American Studies 38.4 (2006): 829–858.

    DOI: 10.1017/S0022216X06001623Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Analysis of multicultural policies in Panama based on fieldwork among the Kuna people. Focuses on indigenous peoples’ ongoing conflicts with the state over territorial land rights.

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  • Howe, James. The Kuna Gathering: Contemporary Village Politics in Panama. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.

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    Ethnography of local politics among indigenous communities in Panama, focusing on the functioning of village councils and the uses of symbolic politics.

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  • Tilly, Virginia. Seeing Indians: A Study of Race, Nation, and Power in El Salvador. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005.

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    Critical evaluation of challenges of “being” indigenous in El Salvador in the decades following the 1932 genocide of indigenous peoples in western El Salvador. Evaluates recent trends away from social denial of the country’s indigenous past to the emergence of multicultural national imaginary in the 1990s within the context of transnational indigenous movements.

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  • Wainwright, Joel, and Joe Bryan. “Cartography, Territory, Property: Postcolonial Reflections on Indigenous Counter-mapping in Nicaragua and Belize.” Cultural Geographies 16.2 (2009): 153–178.

    DOI: 10.1177/1474474008101515Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Comparative study of the politics of mapmaking in indigenous territories in Belize and Nicaragua.

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Guatemala

Home to the Maya, one of the largest established indigenous peoples in Latin America, Guatemala receives considerable scholarly attention. Brett 2008 provides a useful overview of the role indigenous social movements played in Guatemala’s democratization process. The puzzle of why, despite a vibrant and active Mayan social movement, there has been no successful national Mayan political party is taken up by Bastos and Camus 2003, Hale 2006, Warren 1998, and Vogt 2015. The fragmented Mayan movement has produced several parties, with various success at the local level: Ba Tiul 2007 discusses Winaq and Rasch 2011 discusses Xel-jú. Surprisingly, the (failed) presidential candidacy of Rigoberta Menchu, one of the most well-known indigenous activists in Latin America, received little scholarly attention. A useful discussion of her campaign written prior to the election is Martínez Cortez 2007. Sanabria Arias 2012 discusses how indigenous activists interact with and are incorporated into the national party system. Other general overviews of indigenous politics in Guatemala can be found in Van Cott 1994, Langer and Muñoz 2003, and Maybury-Lewis 2003, all cited under Anthologies.

  • Ba Tiul, Máximo. Movimiento Winaq, la Controversia: Ni a la Izquierda Ni a la Derecha. Guatemala City: FLACSO, 2007.

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    Brief overview of Winaq, the Mayan political party that presented Rigoberta Menchú as its presidential candidate in the 2007 presidential election.

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  • Bastos, Santiago, and Manuela Camus. Entre el mecapal y el cielo: Desarrollo del movimiento maya en Guatemala. Guatemala City: FLACSO, 2003.

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    Analysis of the status of Mayan social movements in Guatemala since the 1995 Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The authors seek to understand why Guatemala’s indigenous peoples were not able to fully realize the potential benefits in that policy agreement.

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  • Brett, Roddy. Social Movements, Indigenous Politics and Democratisation in Guatemala, 1985–1996. Boston: Brill, 2008.

    DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004165526.i-229Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Study of the role of indigenous peoples’ movements in the Guatemalan democratization process. Case studies of three different Mayan organizations: the Consejo de Comunidades Étnicas Ranujel Junam (CERJ), the Coordinadora Nacional Indígena y Campesina (CONIC), and the Defensoría Maya.

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  • Hale, Charles R. Mas Que un Indio: Racial Ambivalence and Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Guatemala. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research, 2006.

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    Study of the ambivalence toward indigenous culture among the mestizo “ladino” population in Guatemala and its consequences for government multicultural policies.

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  • Martínez Cortez, Carlos Aníbal. “Guatemala: La candidatura de Rigoberta Menchú y los desafíos del próximo gobierno.” Nueva Sociedad 209 (2007): 13–21.

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    One of the few scholarly analyses of Rigoberta Menchú’s failed 2007 campaign for the Guatemalan presidency. This brief article provides the context in which Menchú campaigned, written prior to the results of the election (in which she finished a distant seventh place).

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  • Rasch, Elisabet D. “‘The Root Is Maya, the Practice Is Pluralist’: Xel-jú and Indigenous Political Mobilisation in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 30.4 (2011): 1–15.

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    Discusses Xel-jú, a local-level ethnic Maya party, focusing on the breakthrough election of Rigoberto Quemé as mayor of the department’s capital city in 1995.

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  • Sanabria Arias, José Carlos, coord. Participación y Representación Indígena en Partidos Políticos Guatamaltecos. Guatemala City: Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales, 2012.

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    Collection of essays on the opportunities and challenges posed to indigenous activists within the Guatemalan party system, based largely on numerous interviews with party leaders and activists.

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  • Vogt, Manuel. “The Disarticulated Movement: Barriers to Maya Mobilization in Post-Conflict Guatemala.” Latin American Politics and Society 57.1 (2015): 29–50.

    DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-2456.2015.00260.xSave Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Analysis of the absence of a national Mayan political movement drawing from elite interviews. Vogt concludes that lack of consensus on key issues among Mayan leaders, as well as external institutional constraints, particularly legacies of anti-indigenous violence, prevent the formation of a unified Mayan political movement.

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  • Warren, Kay B. Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in Guatemala. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.

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    Historical study of the emergence of and challenges facing the pan-Maya movement in Guatemala. Focuses on the intersection of socioeconomic class and ethnic identity.

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Nicaragua

Attention on Nicaragua’s indigenous politics focuses on the two autonomous Atlantic coast regions, home to the country’s Miskitu people. Baracco 2016 provides a historical overview of the creation of the autonomous regions. The history of conflict between the coastal Miskitu people and the Nicaraguan state is the focus of Hale 1996 and Vilas 1989, while Gabriel 1996 focuses on the impact of multicultural policies on ethnic mobilization in the Atlantic coastal autonomous regions. A good ethnography of ethnic communities in the region, with attention to the African roots, is Pineda 2006, cited under Afro-Indigenous Groups and Movements. For a discussion the role of mestizaje on ethnic identity in Nicaragua see Hale 1996, cited under Central America.

  • Baracco, Luciano. “The Historical Roots of Autonomy in Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast: From British Colonialism to Indigenous Autonomy.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 35.3 (2016): 291–305.

    DOI: 10.1111/blar.12329Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Historical overview of the creation of the autonomous Miskitu regions of Nicaragua and its roots in 1960s Miskitu nationalism.

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  • Gabriel, John. “UNO . . . What Happened to Autonomy? Politics and Ethnicity on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 19.1 (1996): 158–185.

    DOI: 10.1080/01419870.1996.9993903Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Critical analysis of changes in ethnic political mobilization in the autonomous coastal regions of Nicaragua after the end of the Sandinista regime. Gabriel concludes that the post-Sandinista context constrained the regional autonomy, as multicultural policies transformed cultural and ethnic identity in the coastal regions.

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  • Hale, Charles R. Resistance and Contradiction: Miskitu Indians and the Nicaraguan State, 1894–1987. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1996.

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    History of the Miskitu peoples ongoing political struggle within the framework of nation-building process in modern Nicaragua. Focuses on the difficult position of the Miskitu people, caught between American and Sandinista political interests.

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  • Vilas, Carlos María. State, Class, and Ethnicity in Nicaragua: Capitalist Modernization and Revolutionary Change on the Atlantic Coast. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner, 1989.

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    Overview of the history of conflict between the Sandinista government and the indigenous peoples concentrated along Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast, within the context of historical political cleavage between the Nicaraguan state and the Atlantic coastal region.

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The Andes

The Andes is home to two of the most vibrant and successful indigenous movements in Bolivia and Ecuador, which receive considerable attention. Comparative studies of the two countries include Lucero 2008, Van Cott 2009, and Rice 2011. For a succinct overview of the entire region, see Yashar 2006. Cameron 2010 provides an excellent comparison on the three central Andean republics (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru). Studies that include a focus on Peru, a country similar to both Bolivia and Ecuador, but that has not had a successful indigenous movement or party include García and Lucero 2004 and Glidden 2013. The recent emergence of Amazonian indigenous movements in Peru is discussed in Green 2009. Although little scholarly attention is paid to Venezuela’s small indigenous movement, Van Cott 2003 draws attention to its ability to influence the 1999 Venezuelan constitutional reforms. For discussion of the early adoption of multicultural policies in the 1990s in Bolivia and Colombia, see Van Cott 2000. Additional coverage of Colombia and Peru can be found in country chapters in Van Cott 1994, Postero and Zamozc 2006, and Maybury-Lewis 2003, all cited under Anthologies.

  • Cameron, John D. Struggles for Local Democracy in the Andes. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Press, 2010.

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    Comparative study of local government in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Emphasizes the importance of local political and economic context, rather than leaders’ agency or charisma.

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  • García, María Elena, and José Antonio Lucero. “¿Un País Sin Indígenas? Rethinking Indigenous Politics in Peru.” In Struggle for Indigenous Rights in Latin America. Edited by Nancy Grey Postero and Leon Zamosc. Brighton, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 2004.

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    The authors argue against the conventional wisdom that there is indigenous movement in Peru by pointing to various forms of indigenous political organization across the later 20th century.

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  • Glidden, Lisa. Mobilizing Ethnic Identity in the Andes: A Study of Ecuador and Peru. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013.

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    Comparison of indigenous movements in Ecuador and Peru, focusing on explaining why indigenous peoples in Ecuador mobilized along ethnic lines and those in Peru have not. Using a constructivist “ethnic identity formation” framework, Glidden concludes that in Ecuador’s highlands indigenous peoples came to understand that their grievances were related to their ethnic identity prior to their mobilization.

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  • Green, Shane. Customizing Indigeneity: Paths to a Visionary Politics in Peru. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2009.

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    Study of small Aguarana people that is seeking to lead Amazonian movement in Peru. Green uses a constructivist framework to analyze how the Aguarana “customize” their indigenous identity in response to shifting political contexts.

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  • Lucero, José Antonio. Struggles of Voice: The Politics of Indigenous Representation in the Andes. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh University Press, 2008.

    DOI: 10.2307/j.ctt6wrd86Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Cultural analysis of patterns of indigenous political mobilization and representation, comparing Ecuador and Bolivia from the mid-1800s through the contemporary period. Lucero’s volume looks closely at different strategies and contexts, as well as a broad range of indigenous “voices” in the region.

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  • Rice, Robert. “From the Ground Up: The Challenge of Indigenous Party Consolidation in Latin America.” Party Politics 17.2 (2011): 171–188.

    DOI: 10.1177/1354068810391159Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Discusses the prospect for the consolidation and long-term viability of (new) indigenous-based political parties drawing from analysis of municipal elections in Ecuador and Bolivia, contrasting the success of Bolivia’s MAS and the mixed success of Ecuador’s Pachakutik.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. The Friendly Liquidation of the Past: The Politics of Diversity in Latin America. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

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    Analysis of 1990s multicultural reforms in Bolivia and Colombia, looking at the interactions between elite policymakers, community activists, and international donor agencies.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. “Andean Indigenous Movements and Constitutional Transformation: Venezuela in Comparative Perspective.” Latin American Perspectives 30.1 (2003): 49–69.

    DOI: 10.1177/0094582X02239144Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Study of how Venezuela’s tiny and fragmented indigenous population was able to overcome some of the region’s highest institutional obstacles to win significant gains in the country’s 1999 constitution. Van Cott points to changes in the political opportunity structure, within the context of constitutional reforms taking place across the region.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. Radical Democracy in the Andes. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

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    A close examination of indigenous politics at the municipal level in Ecuador and Bolivia. In addition to institutional and organizational factors, Van Cott finds that support for indigenous candidates and parties also depends on effective governance and personal charisma.

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  • Yashar, Deborah J. “Indigenous Politics in the Andes: Changing Patterns of Recognition, Reform, and Representation.” In The Crisis of Democratic Representation in the Andes. Edited by Scott Mainwaring, Ana María Bejarano, and Eduardo Pizarro Leongómez. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.

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    Excellent chapter-length overview of indigenous politics in the Andes. Like much of the rest of the book, Yashar concludes that, paradoxically, there is less a “crisis of representation” in the Andes after more than a decade of multicultural and pluralist policies than a crisis of weak states, which are increasingly unable to manage citizens’ demands, despite significant real reforms.

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Bolivia

Bolivia has the longest trajectory of indigenous movements and national indigenous parties, including Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Katari de Liberación (MRKTL) and Movimiento Indígena Pachakuti (MIP). The current government party, Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), is not an “ethnic” party of the kind envisioned by the literature on ethnic parties, but its electoral base is largely composed of indigenous social movement organizations. Bolivia receives significant attention in the scholarly literature, and every entry in Anthologies includes at least one chapter on Bolivia, as does nearly every entry in General Overviews. For an excellent introduction by one of the scholars most active in covering indigenous politics in Bolivia, see Albó 2002. For some context on the historical roots of Bolivia’s Aymara indigenous movements, see Ari Chachaki 2014 and Rivera Cusicanqui 1991. The study of indigenous politics is perhaps most developed on the case of Bolivia, particularly since the 2005 election of Evo Morales, the country’s first indigenous president. Those looking for a detailed organizational history of Morales’s MAS party should look to Zuazo Oblitas 2008. For an excellent political ethnography of ethnic identity politics beyond the countryside or the major cities, see Albro 2010. Under the MAS government, various government agencies have published numerous reports and monographs on identity politics. One that stands out is a detailed empirical study of the social and ethnic composition of Bolivia’s bureaucracy by Soruco, et al. 2014. Critical appraisals that point to nuances and of identity politics include Centellas 2009 and Albro 2006. For a good overview and introduction to indigenous politics in the Bolivian lowlands see Postero 2007. Finally, Van Cott 2000 uses the breakthrough success of MIP and MRTKL in the 1990s to develop a theoretical model to explain why ethnic parties emerge successfully in some countries, but not others.

  • Albó, Xavier. “Bolivia: From Indian and Campesino Leaders to Councilors and Parliamentary Deputies.” In Multiculturalism in Latin America. Edited by R. Sieder. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

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    Analysis of the impact of 1990s political reforms, which opened up political space for rural-based indigenous political organizations in recently created municipal governments and territorial “uninominal” (single-member) electoral districts. The subsequent gains by indigenous parties led to a massive influx of indigenous elected authorities at the local and national level.

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  • Albro, Robert. “Bolivia’s ‘Evo Phenomenon’: From Identity to What?” Journal of Latin American Anthropology 11.2 (2006): 408–428.

    DOI: 10.1525/jlca.2006.11.2.408Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Careful critical evaluation of the impact of the election of Evo Morales on indigenous political identity in Bolivia, particularly in the face of Morales’s ambiguous (rather than “specific”) indigenous identify.

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  • Albro, Robert. Roosters at Midnight: Indigenous Signs and Stigma in Local Bolivian Politics. Santa Fe, NM: School of Advanced Research, 2010.

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    Political ethnography of municipal politics in Quillacollo, a mid-sized city in central Bolivia. The focus on a semi-urban municipality allows for a careful analysis of how indigenous ethnic political mobilization works beyond rural areas.

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  • Ari Chachaki, Waskar. Earth Politics: Religion, Decolonization, and Bolivia’s Indigenous Intellectuals. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

    DOI: 10.1215/9780822376958Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    History of early-20th-century indigenous cultural and political movement, the Alcaldes Mayores Particulares (AMP), based on archival research.

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  • Centellas, Miguel. “Savina Cuéllar and Bolivia’s New Regionalism.” Latin American Perspectives 37.4 (2009): 161–176.

    DOI: 10.1177/0094582X10372510Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Analysis of the 2008 election of Savina Cuéllar, an indigenous woman elected governor of Chuquisaca department. Centellas explores the paradox of Cuéllar, an indigenous woman who campaigned as an opponent of Morales’s MAS party, and the questions this raises about the complexities of ethnic and regional identity politics in Bolivia.

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  • Postero, Nancy G. Now We Are Citizens: Politics in Postmulticultural Bolivia. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007.

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    Ethnographic study of cultural politics in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia, focusing on the Guarani people and their mobilization within a “postmulticultural” framework.

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  • Rivera Cusicanqui, Silvia. Pachakuti: Los Aymaras de Bolivia Frente a Medio Milenio de Colonialismo. La Paz, Bolivia: Taller de Historia Oral Andina, 1991.

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    Places Bolivia’s contemporary Aymara movement within the historical context of colonialism. Rivera Cusicanqui argues that contemporary Aymara demands for autonomy are rooted in colonial-era mobilization through constructions of pan-Aymara identity. Important for understanding the historical trajectory of Aymara political mobilization in Bolivia.

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  • Soruco, Ximena, Daniela Franco, and Mariela Durán. Composición Social del Estado Plurinacional: Hacia la descolonización de la burocracia. La Paz, Bolivia: Vicepresidencia del Estado, 2014.

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    Incredibly detailed overview of Bolivia’s bureaucracy between a 2001 and 2013 survey of government bureaucrats. Includes numerous tables and descriptive statistics, providing a comprehensive overview of the social composition of and indigenous presence within the Bolivian state.

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  • Van Cott, Donna Lee. “Party System Development and Indigenous Populations in Latin America: The Bolivian Case.” Party Politics 6.2 (2000): 155–174.

    DOI: 10.1177/1354068800006002002Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Using the Bolivian case, Van Cott analyzes why indigenous parties have not emerged in Latin America, despite seemingly favorable conditions (proportional representation electoral systems) and large indigenous populations. She argues that institutional reforms in the 1990s changed the underlying incentive structures, helping the electoral fortunes of Bolivia’s indigenous parties.

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  • Zuazo Oblitas, Moira. ¿Cómo nació el MAS? La ruralización de la política en Bolivia: Entrevistas con 85 parlamentarios del partido. La Paz: FES-ILDIS, 2008.

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    Study of the institutional origins of MAS as a political organization based on interviews with eighty-five legislators from the party.

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Colombia

Although indigenous movements in Colombia are small, the country has drawn attention most often as a comparison with “successful” Ecuador and Bolivia. But the country was an early adopter of multicultural policies, including the adoption of a special reserved legislative seat for indigenous representative (and another for Afro-Colombians) in the 1990 constitutional reforms. These are often studied in larger cross-national studies (which extend well beyond Latin America), but two notable studies that look at the impact of reserved seats include Laurent 2005 and Laurent 2012. Perhaps the most successful indigenous movement in Colombia is the Consejo Nacional Indígena de Cauca (CONIC). For a history of that organization, see Troyan 2015. Excellent overviews of indigenous and ethnic politics in Colombia can be found in country chapters in Bejarano, et al. 2013; Fischer 2009; Maybury-Lewis 2003; Postero and Zamozc 2006; and Van Cott 1994 (all cited under Anthologies).

  • Laurent, Virginie. Comunidades indígenas, espacios políticos y movilización electoral en Colombia, 1990–1998: Motivaciones, campos de acción e impactos. Bogota, Colombia: Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia, 2005.

    DOI: 10.4000/books.ifea.4666Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    History of Colombian indigenous political mobilization since the introduction of a reserved seat for indigenous peoples implemented in the 1990 constitutional reforms.

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  • Laurent, Virginie. “Multiculturalismo a la colombiana y veinte años de movilización electoral indígena: Circunscripciones especiales en la mira.” Análisis Político 25.75 (2012): 47–65.

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    Critical appraisal of the impact of a single special reserved seat for indigenous people in the Colombian legislature, emphasizes the limitations imposed on indigenous political actors.

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  • Troyan, Brett. Cauca’s Indigenous Movement in Southwestern Colombia: Land, Violence, and Ethnic Identity. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2015.

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    Study of one of the most successful indigenous organizations in Colombia, looking back historically to state-community relations and government initiatives since the 1930s.

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Ecuador

After Bolivia, Ecuador is generally considered the case of the most successful indigenous political movement in Latin America. The Movimiento Unidad Plurinacional Pachakutik (MUPP), often referred to simply as “Pachakutik,” remains one of the most successful indigenous parties in the region, despite its recent electoral setbacks. Excellent histories of Pachakutik include Becker 2011, Collins 2004, and Mijeski and Beck 2011. For more general overviews of indigenous movements in Ecuador, see Becker and Clark 2011 and Becker 2008. Tuaza Castro 2011 provides a critical appraisal of the decline of Pachakutik and the broader indigenous movement (which had become identified with Pachakutik) from an insider’s perspective. For an empirical analysis of the critical election that saw Pachakutik’s collapse, see Beck and Mijeski 2006. Although Ecuador’s highland indigenous peoples are more numerous, its lowland indigenous peoples have often been the most active and are the subject of Erazo 2013 and Viatori 2010. Like Bolivia, Ecuador is well covered in the entries in General Overviews and Anthologies.

  • Beck, Scott H., and Kenneth J. Mijeski. “The Indigenous Vote in Ecuador’s 2002 Presidential Election.” Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies 1.2 (2006): 165–184.

    DOI: 10.1080/17442220600859338Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Study of voting behavior in Ecuador’s 2002 election using Gary King’s ecological inference method. Beck and Mijeski find that, although indigenous voters are generally more likely to vote for Pachakutik candidates, they did not act as a solid ethnic voting block as predicted by ethnic party mobilization theory.

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  • Becker, Marc. Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador’s Modern Indigenous Movements. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008.

    DOI: 10.1215/9780822381457Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    History of the relationship between indigenous communities and leftist (socialist and communist) political activists. Becker argues against claims that the left treated indigenous communities paternalistically, suggesting that the relationship was mutually supportive. An important contribution to understanding the ideological and historical formation of indigenous movements in Ecuador.

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  • Becker, Marc. ¡Pachakutik!: Indigenous Movements and Electoral Politics in Ecuador. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

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    Comprehensive history of Pachakutik, Ecuador’s most successful indigenous party. The book proceeds chronologically, starting with the party’s formation in the 1990s until its decline in the 2000s.

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  • Becker, Marc, and A. Kim Clark, eds. Highland Indians and the State in Modern Ecuador. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011.

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    Collection of essays on the history of the relationship between indigenous peoples and the emerging Ecuadorian state during the 1800s, analyzing how indigenous actors interacted with the formation of the modern Ecuadorian state. Places the contemporary indigenous movement in Ecuador in historical and regional context.

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  • Collins, Jennifer. “Linking Movement and Electoral Politics: Ecuador’s Indigenous Movement and the Rise of Pachakutik.” In Politics in the Andes: Identity, Conflict, Reform. Edited by Joe-Marie Burt and Philip Mauceri. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004.

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    Excellent chapter-length historical overview of the rise of Pachakutik within a resource mobilization theory framework. Concludes with critical evaluation of the tradeoffs the movement made in entering the electoral arena.

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  • Erazo, Juliet S. Governing Indigenous Territories: Enacting Sovereignty in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2013. Ethnographic.

    DOI: 10.1215/9780822378921Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Political ethnography of indigenous community in Ecuadorian Amazon and its struggle to win territorial political autonomy from the Ecuadorian state.

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  • Mijeski, Kenneth J., and Scott H. Beck. Pachakutik and the Rise and Decline of the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movements. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2011.

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    Overview of the rise and fall of one of the region’s most successful indigenous political movements, beginning with the strategic choice to enter electoral politics. Mijeski and Beck suggest that the electoral competition weakened the movement, particularly after missteps in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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  • Perreault, Thomas. “Changing Places: Transnational Networks, Ethnic Politics, and Community Development in the Ecuadorian Amazon.” Political Geography 22.1 (2003): 61–88.

    DOI: 10.1016/S0962-6298(02)00058-6Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Study of Mondayacu, a Quechua-speaking community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, tracing the historical development of its indigenous movement since the mid-1990s through the development of cross-communal networks facilitated by development policies and strategies. Particularly useful for its emphasis on analyzing social movements at the micro level.

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  • Tuaza Castro, Luis Alberto. Runakunaka ashka shaikushka shinami rikurinkuna, ña mana tandanakunata munankunachu: La crisis de movimiento indígena ecuatoriano. Quito, Ecuador: FLACSO, 2011.

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    Analysis of the decline of Ecuador’s indigenous political movement based on fieldwork in Chimborazo province, once the epicenter of Ecuador’s indigenous movement. Based on interviews (Tuaza Castro is fluent in Quechua), the author concludes that “organizational exhaustion” and growing rift between leaders and grassroots activists contributed to the movement’s decline.

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  • Viatori, Macimilian Stefan. One State, Many Nations: Indigenous Rights Struggles in Ecuador. Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research, 2010.

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    Political ethnography of the Zápara, a very small Amazonian indigenous people, who organized into a political movement in the late 1990s. Viatori highlights how the movement was in large part organized to advance claims of Zápara “distinctiveness” within the larger Ecuadorian indigenous movement.

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Southern Cone

Latin America’s Southern Cone is most certainly the region was the least developed indigenous political movements. This is largely a product of the reality that indigenous peoples make up a tiny fraction of most of these countries’ populations. The one exception is Chile, whose Mapuche population is relatively large and heavily concentrated geographically. Not surprisingly, works on Mapuche politics are more common, such as Carter 2010 (cited under Chile); Carruthers and Rodriguez 2009; and Haughney 2007, Park and Richards 2007, and Terwindt 2009 (all cited under Chile). Interestingly, the other country with a relatively large indigenous population, Paraguay, also received little attention, largely because Paraguay itself is generally ignored by scholars. This is a shame, since Paraguay is an interesting case in which most of the population are bilingual Guaraní speakers, making this case fertile ground for studies of ethnic identity politics and “alternative” mestizajes. For an excellent monograph on the role Guarani activists played in 20th-century Paraguayan politics, see Horst 2007. The small Guaraní majority in northern Argentina are the focus of Gordillo and Hirsch 2003 and Hirsch 2008, with the later pointing to the important role played by Bolivia’s Guaraní community in forging a transnational Guaraní movement. Interestingly, Argentina and Uruguay have recently witnessed the “re-emergence” of previously “extinct” indigenous peoples, the subject of Verdesio 2016 and Vom Hau and Wilde 2010. Argentina also received some coverage in Bejarano, et al. 2013 and Langer and Muñoz 2003, both cited under Anthologies. Essays covering Paraguay are also found in Van Cott 1994, Maybury-Lewis 2003, and Langer and Muñoz 2003, all cited under Anthologies.

  • Erlick, June C. Territory Guaraní. ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America. Spring 2015.

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    Interdisciplinary collection of short essays on the Guaraní people, including articles on politics. The articles on history and culture provide excellent background.

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  • Gordillo, Gastón, and Silvia M. Hirsch. “Indigenous Struggles and Contested Identities in Argentina: Histories of Invisibility and Reemergence.” Journal of Latin American Anthropology 8.3 (2003): 4–30.

    DOI: 10.1525/jlca.2003.8.3.4Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Overview of political history of indigenous peoples in Argentina and changing government discourse and policy. Examines the cultural re-emergence of and political organization of indigenous peoples in peripheral areas (Pampas, Patagonia, and Chaco).

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  • Hirsch, Silvia María. “Bilingualism, Pan-Indianism and Politics in Northern Argentina: The Guaraní’s Struggle for Identity and Recognition.” Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 8.3 (2008): 84–103.

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    Analysis of the re-emergence of Guarani ethnic identity in northern Argentina. Hirsch links this re-emergence to transnational contacts with Bolivian Guaraní activists and the role multicultural bilingual education projects are forging a “pan- Guaraní” identity.

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  • Horst, René H. The Stroessner Regime and Indigenous Resistance in Paraguay. Gainsville: University Press of Florida, 2007.

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    History of Paraguayan state policy toward indigenous peoples during the Alfredo Stroessner regime (1954–1989) and the way indigenous groups resisted these policies and connected themselves to growing regional discourse of indigenous rights.

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  • Verdesio, Gustavo. “Ethnic Reemergence in Uruguay: The Return of the Charrúa in the Light of Settler Colonialism Studies.” In Decolonial Approaches to Latin American Literatures and Cultures. Edited by Juan G. Ramos and Tara Daly. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

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    Study of the recent re-emergence of Charrúa ethnic political identity in Uruguay, despite widespread belief that the Charrúa disappeared during early colonial period.

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  • Vom Hau, Matthias, and Guillermo Wilde. “‘We Have Always Lived Here’: Indigenous Movements, Citizenship, and Poverty in Argentina.” Journal of Development Studies 46.7 (2010): 1283–1303.

    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2010.487098Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Explores the relationship between ethnic, indigenous identity and poverty in rural Argentina, with a focus on indigenous mobilization and emerging multicultural regimes in Tucuman and Misiones provinces.

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Chile

Of the Southern Cone countries, Chile’s indigenous Mapuche population has received significant attention. Carter 2010 focuses on the role Mapuche activists played in 20th-century politics. Carruthers and Rodriguez 2009 discusses the linkages between indigenous and other Chilean social movements. The impact of and resistance to neoliberal policies have received significant attention in the literature on Chile, and Haughney 2007 and Park and Richards 2007 discuss the role of the Mapuche. Finally, Terwindt 2009 discusses the role of cultural ethnic self-identity in the Mapuche movement.

Brazil

Indigenous peoples make up a tiny fraction of Brazil’s population, and ethnic identity politics there tend to focus on the Afro-Brazilian population. The small indigenous population is mostly found deep in the country’s interior and is not well integrated into the country’s political or economic life. Nevertheless, Brazil’s indigenous population has had an important impact domestically and internationally as symbols of ecological resistance. Devine Guzmán 2013 and Ramos 1998 provide comprehensive histories of indigenous politics in Brazil. For a short introduction to Brazil’s indigenous policy and the state’s relationship with indigenous peoples, see Carvalho 2000. Good chapter-length overviews of indigenous politics in Brazil are available in Langer and Muñoz 2003, Maybury-Lewis 2003, Postero and Zamozc 2006, and Van Cott 1994, all cited under Anthologies. Garfield 2001 frames this history through a focus on the Xavante people. Rabben 1998 offers a comparative study of the Yanomani and Kayapó peoples. The activism of the Kayapó is discussed by Fisher 1994, Turner 1995, and Rabben 1998. Some important critical evaluations include Conklin and Graham 1995, which looks at the costs to indigenous peoples of being symbolic points of reference for the global environmentalist movement. Warren 2001 looks at the role of indigenous peoples in Brazil’s growing antiracism movement. Finally, Miki 2018, cited under Afro-Indigenous Groups and Movements, looks at the historical interactions between African and Amerindian peoples in Brazil.

The Caribbean

The Caribbean is an ethnically diverse, but too often neglected region of Latin America. This includes the non-Spanish speaking mainland countries like Suriname, Guyana, and Belize. Additionally, studies of ethnic identity politics in this region tend to focus on the same black-white dichotomy used in the studies of US racial politics. Recently, however, there is growing attention to the region’s indigenous roots. Forte 2006 provides a sweeping survey of the “re-emergence” of Amerindian ethnic identity across the region. Castanha 2011 and Feliciano-Santos 2018 focus on the resurgence of indigenous identification among Puerto Ricans.

  • Castanha, Tony. The Myth of Indigenous Caribbean Extinction: Continuity and Reclamation in Borikén (Puerto Rico). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

    DOI: 10.1057/9780230116405Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Ethnographic study of the re-emergence of indigenous identity among Puerto Ricans. Castanha challenges the conventional wisdom that the island’s indigenous population was exterminated during colonialism, asserting that cultural practices survived “underground.”

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  • Feliciano-Santos, Sherina. “Negotiation of Ethnoracial Configurations among Puerto Rican Taíno Activists.” Ethnic and Racial Studies (2018).

    DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2018.1480789Save Citation »Export Citation » Share Citation »

    Study of Taíno indigenous activism and organization in Puerto Rico. Critically evaluates the political claim to belong to supposedly “extinct” ethnic indigenous communities.

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  • Forte, Maximilian C., ed. Indigenous Resurgence in the Contemporary Caribbean: Amerindian Survival and Revival. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.

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    Collection of essays on the re-emergence of indigenous cultural and political identities across the broader Caribbean. Case study chapters include Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Belize. Also includes chapters on transnational pan-Caribbean movements and organizations.

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