Ethnicity and community in Oaxaca: Nursery, hospital, and retirement home¹

The Role of Protestant Missionaires in Mexico’s Indigenous Awakening

“…In the case of indigenous identity, it is often assumed that indigenous identity has remained unchanged through the centuries. Scholarship on indigenous identity in Mexico, however, demonstrates a considerable amount of flux (Rees, 1996; Stavenhagen, 2000). In Mexico, indigenous people are beginning to define themselves in ‘ethnic’ terms (Rees, 1996; Stavenhagen, 2000).…”

“…Scholarship on indigenous identity in Mexico, however, demonstrates a considerable amount of flux (Rees, 1996; Stavenhagen, 2000). In Mexico, indigenous people are beginning to define themselves in ‘ethnic’ terms (Rees, 1996; Stavenhagen, 2000). This represents a fundamental break with the past.…”

“…These policies were reinforced by the state’s official policy of mestizaje – turning Indians into mestizos (Bonfil Batalla, 1996). Indeed, when ‘indianidad’ was deployed by the state, it was usually done to reinforce Indians’ place in the class system (Rees, 1996). For their part, the indigenous defined themselves at the macro level as campesinos and at the micro level by village of origin.…”

“…For their part, the indigenous defined themselves at the macro level as campesinos and at the micro level by village of origin. Recent scholarship suggests, however, that indigenous people in Oaxaca are beginning to define themselves in ‘ethnic’ terms, such as Zapotec, although such invocations take myriad forms, and are not usually applied in cross‐community settings (Nader, 1990; Stephen, 1991; Rees, 1996). As I demonstrate in the next section, Protestants buttress this trend by approaching indigenous people on ethnic terms, using language to organise their categories of proselytism.…”