Indigenismo () is a political ideology in several countries which emphasizes the relationship between the nation state and Indigenism.[See] In some contemporary uses, it refers to the pursuit of greater social and political inclusion for Indigenous peoples in Latin America, whether through nation-wide reforms or region-wide alliances.[See e.g. Alcida Rita Ramos, Indigenism: Ethnic Politics in Brazil, University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.] In either case, this type of indigenismo seeks to vindicate Indigenous cultural and linguistic difference, assert Indigenous rights, and seek recognition and in some cases compensation for past wrongdoings of the colonial and republican states.
Indigenismo in Mexico
Originally, indigenismo was a component of Mexican nationalism that consolidated after the Mexican Revolution. This indigenismo lauded some aspects of Indigenous cultural heritage, but primarily as a relic of the past. Within the larger national narrative of the Mexican nation as the product of European and Amerindian
Mestizo, indigenismo was a component of Mexican
nation-building, and an expression of freedom for an imagined, reclaimed identity that was stripped during the Spanish colonization of Mexico.
During the administration of Plutarco Elías Calles (1924–28), Moisés Sáenz, who held a doctorate from Columbia University and was a follower of John Dewey's educational methods, implemented aspects of indigenismo in the Department of Public Education. Sáenz had initially taken an assimilationist position on the "Indian problem," but after a period of residence in the Purépecha community of Carapan, he shifted his stance to one focusing on the material conditions affecting the Indigenous. He influenced the administration of Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), which established the cabinet-level position of the Department of Indigenous Affairs in 1936.[Alexander S. Dawson, "Moisés Sáenz", in Encyclopedia of Mexico, vol. 2, p. 1325. Chicago: Fitzroy and Dearborn 1997.] The department's main efforts were in the economic and educational spheres.[Government of Mexico, Seis Años de Gobierno al Servicio de México, 1934-40. México: La Nacional Impresora 1940, pp. 351–382.] Cárdenas valorized Indigeneity, as indicated by the creation of the cabinet-level position and resources put into Indigenous communities. In 1940, Mexico hosted a multinational meeting on indigenismo, The Congress of Inter-American Indigenism, held in Pátzcuaro, where Cárdenas himself addressed the gathering.[ Seis Años, p. 382.] President Miguel Alemán reorganized the Mexican government's policies directed at the Indigenous by creating the National Indigenist Institute ( Instituto Nacional Indigenista or INI). In the Vicente Fox administration, the unit was reorganized and renamed.
The valorization of Indigeneity was rarely carried over to contemporary Indigenous people, who were targeted for assimilation into modern Mexican society. Though the authors of Indigenist policies saw themselves as seeking to protect and relieve Indigenous people, their efforts did not make a clean break from forced assimilation practices of the pre-revolutionary past.[Alan Knight, “Racism, Revolution, and Indigenismo", in The Idea of Race in the Latin America, 1870-1940, edited by Richard Graham, University of Texas Press, 1990.]
Indigenismo in Peru
In
Peru, it was initially associated with the APRA movement founded by Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre (1924). The then left-wing APRA dominated Peruvian politics for decades as the singular well-organized political party in Peru not centered on one person. To some APRA or "Aprismo" in its initial form stood for the nationalization of foreign-owned enterprises and an end to the exploitation of the Indigenous peoples. To others it was about the combining of modern economics and technology with the historical traditions of the countryside and Indigenous populations to create a new and unique model for social and economic development.
[Latino Indigenismo in a Comparative Perspective Luis A. Marentes]
Ethnocacerism is an ethnic nationalist Indigenous political movement in Peru associated with Antauro Humala, brother of ex-president Ollanta Humala with whom he carried out the Andahuaylazo, a failed coup d'état.
Indigenismo in the United States
Indigenismo in the United States is an ideology found among some
/Mexican Americans, with roots in 20th-century state-sponsored
Indigenismo policies in Mexico.
Indigenismo in the
Chicano movement encourages
White Mexicans/mestizo Chicanos to identify with Indigenous Mexican heritage, rather than with Spanish or European heritage. Chicano Indigenismo has been an important or central element of
Chicanismo during the 20th century and into the 21st century.
However, Indigenous people and some individuals within the Chicano movement have been criticizing
Indigenismo since at least the early 1970s, rejecting the ideology's emphasis on historical heritage rather than connections to contemporary Indigenous communities, as well as
Indigenismo's ties to racism, eugenics, anti-Blackness, and anti-Indigeneity in Mexican politics.
See also
Further reading
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Barnet-Sánchez, Holly. "Indigenismo and Pre-Hispanic Revivals" in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Culture. vol. 2, pp. 42–44. Oxford University Press 2001.
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Baud, Michiel (2009). Indigenous peoples, civil society, and the neo-liberal state in Latin America. New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 19–42. .
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Bonfil Batalla, Guillermo (1996). México profundo : reclaiming a civilization / by Guillermo Bonfil Batalla ; translated by Philip A. Dennis. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. .
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David Brading "Manuel Gamio and Official Indigenismo in Mexico" Bulletin of Latin American Research 7.1 (1988), 75–89.
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Coronado, Jorge (2009). Andes Imagined : Indigenismo, Society, and Modernity. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. .
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Dawson, Alexander (May 1998). "From Models for the Nation to Model Citizens: Indigenismo and the 'Revindication' of the Mexican Indian, 1920-40". Journal of Latin American Studies. 30 (2): 279–308.
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Garcia, Maria Elena (2005). Making indigenous citizens: identities, education, and multicultural development in Peru. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. .
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Knight, Alan, “Racism, Revolution, and Indigenismo", in The Idea of Race in the Latin America, 1870-1940, edited by Richard Graham, University of Texas Press, 1990.
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Lewis, Stephen E. (2005). The ambivalent revolution: forging state and nation in Chiapas, 1910–1945. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. .
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Lopez, Rick Anthony (2010). Crafting Mexico: intellectuals, artisans, and the state after the Revolution. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. .
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Munoz, Maria L. O.; Kiddle, Amelia (2010). Populism in twentieth century Mexico: the presidencies of Lázaro Cárdenas and Luis Echeverría. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. .
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Postero, Nancy Grey; Zamosc, Leon (2004). The struggle for indigenous rights in Latin America. Brighton England; Portland, Or.: Sussex Academic Press. .
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Saldivar, Emiko (April 1, 2011). "Everyday Practices of Indigensimo: An Ethnography of Anthropology and the State in Mexico". The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. 16 (1): 67–89. doi:10.1111/j.1935-4940.2011.01125.x.
