Authenticating Strategic Essentialisms: The Politics of Indigenousness at the United Nations

Escárcega, Sylvia

doi:10.1177/0921374010366780

Cited by 63 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…By using indigenous approaches, it is possible to develop local, empirically based knowledge [9,20,27,30]. Use of indigenous approaches would also assist in decolonizing the processes of research, curriculum development, and program planning [30,31,33,35], changing the "top-down," with "bottom-up" approach.…”

Section: Indigenous Methodologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Indigenous Approaches as a Bridge between Policies, Interventions, and the Grassroots

Ibrahima¹

2020

Global Social Work - Cutting Edge Issues and Critical Reflections

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Indigenous approaches are crucial for indigenous people across the world including Africans, in assessing the impact of imperialism and its manifestations in colonialism, liberalism, globalization, and Western research. Such approaches acknowledge the fundamental importance of local culture, recognizing that geographical, empirically based knowledge provides culturally appropriate solutions to problems. Indigenous approaches serve as a bridge between policies, interventions, and the grassroots. Social work, as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline, should acknowledge and include indigenous knowledge and methodologies in its curriculum. It is important to empower and provide space and a voice for the grassroots to articulate problems and participate in solving them by sharing their own wisdom and experiences. It is shortsighted and unworkable to rely upon prescribed Western policies and curriculums with the assumption that they will seamlessly transfer to other, fundamentally different, people and cultures. Failing to discard such an "apples to apples approach" will only result in a prolonged failure to adequately address the socioeconomic problems in Sub-Saharan Africa and will only perpetuate the problems associated with imperialism and [neo]colonialism. This chapter provides conceptual definitions to constructs such as decolonization and indigenous knowledge and demonstrates the importance of decolonization and indigenous approaches in social work scholarship and practice as it relates to Africa.

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Section: Indigenous Methodologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Getty [29] affirms that indigenous knowledge arises from both observation and interaction with the biological and social environments and spiritual insights. Indigenous knowledge is passed between generations using idioms tales, symbols, myths, and rites [9,25,27,30,31].…”

Section: Indigenous Knowledge-the Principal Tool For Decolonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Indigenous Approaches as a Bridge between Policies, Interventions, and the Grassroots

Ibrahima¹

2020

Global Social Work - Cutting Edge Issues and Critical Reflections

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“…The Global Indigenous Movement (GIM) emerged from the long history of Indigenous individuals, professionals, organizations, communities, and networks converging to defend Indigenous rights and ways of life (Á lvarez, 1998;Brysk, 2000;Escárcega, 2003Escárcega, , 2010Escobar, 2008;Henderson, 2008;Lâm, 2000;Niezen, 2003;Wilmer, 1993). Then, as now, movement members have mobilized under a collective identity and ideology, sharing similar goals and objectives.…”

Section: Beginnings Of the International Indigenous Movement Around Hmentioning

confidence: 97%

An Indigenous Movement to Confront Climate Change

Powless¹

2012

Globalizations

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Over the last two decades, the Indigenous movement to stop human-induced climate change has grown into a major civil society voice and force, both within the United Nations climate conferences as well as in parallel and autonomous spaces. I first contextualize the movement's roots within the historic rise of an international Indigenous movement framed around human rights. Next I present a characterization of the unique discourses and epistemology held by the International Indigenous Climate Movement in contrast to those of the dominant environmental and governmental institutions and actors. I then outline the agenda, main concerns, and mode of self-organization that this movement has articulated within official negotiations, followed by a discussion of how activists are creating and utilizing alternative, non-official spaces. In both contexts, I briefly touch on the nature of their interactions with non-indigenous social movement actors, and conclude with reflections on the still considerable gaps between Indigenous and non-indigenous actors-both state and civil society.

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“…While most anthropologists highlight the emancipatory potential of indigenous movements, problems with essentialist strategies frequently employed by these movements have been widely noted. Some anthropologists attempt to reconcile scholarly reflection with political engagement by arguing that indigenous essentialism inspires theoretical innovation and constitutes creative forms of resistance (Escárcega :4; Hale :98; Speed :73). Others accept the political utility of essentialism but deny that strategic essentialism contributes to building better theories (Nyamnjoh :305).…”

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confidence: 99%

Essentialism and the Indigenous Politics of Recognition in Southern Africa

Sylvain

2014

American Anthropologist

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In this essay, I explore familiar tensions between anthropological theories of identity and activism on behalf of indigenous causes, with special attention to strategic uses of theoretically dubious forms of essentialism. I examine the contradictions between essentialism and constructionism, and between recognition and redistribution, in light of San struggles for rights to traditional territories in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana. I begin by outlining how the politics of theorizing in an apartheid context imposed a false choice between essentialist and deconstructionist views of identity. I then discuss the controversial relocation of San from the CKGR and how

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Authenticating Strategic Essentialisms: The Politics of Indigenousness at the United Nations

Cited by 63 publications

References 19 publications

Using Indigenous Approaches as a Bridge between Policies, Interventions, and the Grassroots

Using Indigenous Approaches as a Bridge between Policies, Interventions, and the Grassroots

An Indigenous Movement to Confront Climate Change

Essentialism and the Indigenous Politics of Recognition in Southern Africa

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