Indian Communities and the Quincentenary

Abstract

The chronicler of the Indies tells us that on the island of Cuba at the beginning of the 16th century, the cacique Hatuey gathered his people together to discuss the arrival of the Spaniards and the news of the cruelties that they had perpetrated on the island of Hispaniola. Hatuey asked, &dquo;Do all of you understand why the Europeans are enslaving and killing us?&dquo; &dquo;Because they are cruel and evil,&dquo; they replied. Hatuey responded, &dquo;It is not just for that reason but also because they have a god whom they worship and love very much.&dquo; Then he picked up a piece of gold and added, &dquo;This is the god of the Christians.&dquo;The brave cacique fought valiantly against the usurpers of his lands and the destroyers of his country. In the end he was captured and condemned to die at the stake. While he was awaiting death, a Franciscan monk told him that if he accepted the Catholic faith he would go to heaven, where he would find eternal peace, but if he did not, he would be sent to hell and eternal damnation. Hatuey asked, &dquo;Do Christians also go to heaven?&dquo; The monk replied that the good ones did. The cacique responded that he wanted to go to hell, where there would not be any Spaniards. &dquo;This is the fame and honor,&dquo; the chronicler laments, &dquo;that God and our holy faith have won for the Christians who have gone to the Indies&dquo; (Las Casas, 1989: 46-47).This was the general perception in Indian communities of the process of colonization going on at that time, and today's Indians have not changed their perception. Apart from its enormous historical tactlessness, any celebration of the conquest as a heroic civilizing feat would constitute an unforgivable offense against contemporary indigenous peoples. A &dquo;black legend&dquo;? Perhaps. In any case, setting aside all the interested interpretations of events that were made at the time, I agree with those historians who argue that the so-called black legend accurately and objectively reflects those events. The conquered could hardly accept the evange-Hector Diaz-Polanco is a Mexican anthropologist associated with the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social in Mexico City. John F. Uggen is a professor of foreign languages at

Autonomy Begins at Home: A Gendered Perspective on Indigenous Autonomy Movements

“…The parallel engagement of indigenous women in constituent organizations of National Association of Indigenes Plan de Ayala (Asociación Nacional Indígena Plan de Ayala, ANIPA) (Díaz Polanco 1992Mattiace 1997) and in the campesino organizations such as the Independent Center of Agricultural Workers and Campesinos (Central Independiente de Obreros Agrícolas y Campesinos, CIOAC) deepened the participation of indigenes in civil society by their assertion of the rights of gender in relation to the rights of autonomy. Three organizations that united women in the Lacandón rain forest and communities of support in the highlands formed an umbrella organization called Xi' Nich' included the Committee for the Defense of Indigenous Freedom, the Reunion to Resolve Our Problems, and the Union of Communities of the Chiapas Jungle.…”

The Reassertion of Indigenous Identity: Mayan Responses to State Intervention in Chiapas

“…While this conjuncture of forces has provided a basis for subordinate groups to mobilize claims on the state for resources (Ehrenreich 1989;Hill 1989;Selverston 1992) and to resist exploitation and repression (Nagengast and Kearney 1990;Smith 1984b), it has also reinforced relations of subordination and domination (Diaz- Polanco 1992). By looking inward at "narrative strategies for resisting terror" (Warren 1993)/ evoking dialogue between ancient and present traditions (Gossen and Leventhal 1989)/and assessing the economic opportunities that condition their survival (Cancian 1992;Collier 1990; Nash 1993Nash / 1994a, researchers are constructing a theory that recognizes both the structural imperatives of the colonial and postcolonial systems encapsulating indigenous peoples and their own search for a base from which to defend themselves and generate collective action.…”