"This book fills an important niche. Its focus on movements, the politics of representation, and its anthropological
and activist orientation make it unique. Furthermore, it has very timely material and is framed in a manner that
fits the reality of globalized indigenous politics in the twenty-first century. I strongly recommend it."
--Lynn Stephen, author of Zapata Lives! Histories and Cultural Politics in Southern Mexico
Publisher Web Site, June, 2003
Summary
Throughout Latin America, indigenous peoples are responding to state violence and pro-democracy social movements
by asserting their rights to a greater measure of cultural autonomy and self-determination. This volume's rich
case studies of movements in Colombia, Guatemala, and Brazil weigh the degree of success achieved by indigenous
leaders in influencing national agendas when governments display highly ambivalent attitudes about strengthening
ethnic diversity.
The contributors to this volume are leading anthropologists and indigenous activists from the United States and
Latin America. They address the double binds of indigenous organizing and "working within the system"
as well as the flexibility of political tactics used to achieve cultural goals outside the scope of state politics.
The contributors answer questions about who speaks for indigenous communities, how indigenous movements relate
to the popular left, and how conflicts between the national indigenous leadership and local communities play out
in specific cultural and political contexts. The volume sheds new light on the realities of asymmetrical power
relations and on the ways in which indigenous communities and their representatives employ Western constructions
of subjectivity, alterity, and authentic versus counterfeit identity, as well as how they manipulate bureaucratic
structures, international organizations, and the mass media to advance goals that involve distinctive visions of
an indigenous future.