over on my other blog (decolonizing solidarity) I posted the story of three international solidarity activists from the US who were killed in Colombia in 1999. In the Colombian press they are widely called "los indigenistas", which got me wondering how to say that in English and yes, you read that right - that cognate does exist in English. Ward Churchill calls himself one and writes in this Z classic that
"By this, I mean that I am one who not only takes the rights of indigenous peoples as the highest priority of my political life, but who draws upon the traditions—the bodies of knowledge and corresponding codes of value—evolved over many thousands of years by native peoples the world over. This is the basis upon which I not only advance critiques of, but conceptualize alternatives to the present social, political, economic, and philosophical status quo. In turn, this gives shape not only to the sorts of goals and objectives I pursue, but the kinds of strategy and tactics I advocate, the variety of struggles I tend to support, the nature of the alliances I am inclined to enter into, and so on."
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2 comments:
Great blog! Found you through the link on the Heifer Intl blog. A note: In Bolivia there is a divide between two groups of indigenous advocates - those who call themselves indigenistas, and those who use the word indianista/ismo. The latter - perhaps with parallels to groups like the American Indian Movement in the U.S. - tends to be the more radical of the two.
oooh! fantastic, many thanks for the insight - so odd that the anglicism would be the more radical version!
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