Latin American Societies and Culture
Anthropology 37
Fall 2000
Indigenous Peoples project
Perhaps one of the most surprising things that people not familiar with Latin America discover is that indigenous peoples on the continent have not disappeared, but maintain their presence and identities in the countries in which they exist. In many cases, they are not only an important part of the population, but are actively engaged in their respective countries in the debates about social pluralism, environmental concerns, sustainable development, bilingual and bicultural education, and other issues. Indigenous groups have often been actively involved in preserving their cultural identities, their lands, their languages, and their sense of control over their own communities. Nevertheless, indigenous peoples also continue to suffer ethnic discrimination at the hands of the non-indigenous population that was initiated during the conquest. Perhaps not since the 16th century have indigenous groups suffered the levels of encroachment, genocide and struggle that they have suffered over the past thirty years. Possibly the most serious attack against indigenous communities in recent history has taken place in Guatemala, where a large percentage of the 200,000 killed by the Guatemalan military (with US support) over the past 30 years were members of one of the 23 Mayan groups in the country. The Zapatista revolt in Chiapas, Mexico, during the past six years is primarily Mayan as well; other indigenous groups in Mexico have also accused the Mexican government of repression and discrimination. Atlantic coast groups such as the Miskito in Nicaragua and Honduras, and the Kuna in Panama, have struggled to gain legally recognized autonomy. In Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru Amazonian groups have taken on national governments, oil and mining companies, settlers and ranchers, in a struggle to preserve their way of life and their lands. Highland indigenous groups in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia (the Quechua and Aymara, particularly) have pushed, successfully in some cases, for fundamental land reforms, as well as programs of bilingual education. The Mapuche in Chile and Argentina have been engaged in what at times have been violent struggles for territorial sovereignty. Other groups in Argentina and Paraguay have also made strong impassioned appeals for territorial control and recognition of their cultures.
The aim of this exercise is to give us a broader sense of the current state of indigenous peoples in Latin America. The exercise contains three steps:
1. Select a Latin American indigenous group on which you would like to focus and report to the rest of the class. There are a number of ways that you can select such a group… you may want to draw on Green's chapter on indigenous peoples, you may want to go to the encyclopedias of world cultures that we have in the Reference section of the library, or you can look through one of the many web sites on indigenous groups. Some of the more important web sites on indigenous groups are:
2. Once you've selected a group, carefully summarize in outline form (with complete sentences) information about the group. Your summary should contain two components: a section describing the group, including its population, social characteristics, language, changes it has experienced, the struggles it has been engaged in recently, and other information that you think is relevant in understanding its current condition. Second, a section which describes their current struggles, including the struggle for land, bilingual education, environmental preservation, political representation, etc. You might particularly consider the ways in which they have mobilized and organized themselves, and the techniques and methods they have used to gain outside allies. You may use one source if it is sufficiently complete, or you may want to use a couple of different sources. We have a number of sources in the library, and the electronic services in the library are also useful sources of information. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive report… it should provide you and the rest of the class a clear picture of who the group is, its basic characteristics, and the problems and issues it faces today.3. The results of your work should be written up in no more than three pages. We will be sharing the results of our investigation on Oct. 5.