Over the last 30 years, the self-determination efforts and objectives of Indigenous peoples in Canada have increasingly been cast in the language of ‘recognition’ — recognition of cultural distinctiveness, recognition of an inherent right to self-government, recognition of state treaty obligations, and so on. In addition, the last 15 years have witnessed a proliferation of theoretical work aimed at fleshing out the ethical, legal and political significance of these types of claims. Subsequently, ‘recognition’ has now come to occupy a central place in our efforts to comprehend what is at stake in contestations over identity and difference in colonial contexts more generally. In this paper, I employ Frantz Fanon's critique of Hegel's master–slave dialectic to challenge the now hegemonic assumption that the structure of domination that frames Indigenous–state relations in Canada can be undermined via a liberal politics of recognition. Against this assumption, I argue that instead of ushering in an era of peaceful coexistence grounded on the Hegelian ideal of reciprocity, the contemporary politics of recognition promises to reproduce the very configurations of colonial power that Indigenous demands for recognition have historically sought to transcend.

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Subjects of Empire: Indigenous Peoples and the ‘Politics of Recognition’ in Canada

The Amazon rain forest covers more than five million square kilometers, amid the territories of nine different nations. It represents over half of the planet's remaining rain forests. But is it truly in peril? And what steps are necessary to save it? To understand the future of Amazonia, one must know how its history was forged: in the eras of large pre-Columbian populations, in the gold rush of conquistadors, in centuries of slavery, in the schemes of Brazil's military dictators in the 1960s and 1970s, and in new globalized economies where Brazilian soy and beef now dominate, while the market in carbon credits raises the value of standing forest. Susanna Hecht and Alexander Cockburn show in compelling detail the panorama of destruction as it unfolded and also reveal the extraordinary turnaround that is now taking place, thanks to both social movements and the emergence of new environmental markets. Exploring the role of human hands in destroying - and saving - this vast, forested region, \"The Fate of the Forest\" pivots on the murder of Chico Mendes, the legendary labor and environmental organizer assassinated after successful confrontations with big ranchers. A multifaceted portrait of Eden under siege, complete with a new preface and afterword by the authors, this book demonstrates that those who would hold a mirror up to nature must first learn the lessons offered by some of their own people.

The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers and Defenders of the Amazon

This paper conceptualizes colonialism from an indigenous perspective and analyses the effects of colonization on First Nations, with particular focus on explaining the fundamental roots of the psychophysical crises and dependency of First Nations upon the state. Central to its analysis is the effect of colonially-generated cultural disruptions that compound the effects of dispossession to create near total psychological, physical and financial dependency on the state. The paper argues that it is the cumulative and ongoing effects of this crisis of dependency that form the context of First Nations existences today. Social suffering, unresolved psychophysical harms of historical trauma and cultural dislocation are identified as the main sources of a crisis in which First Nations’ opportunities for self-sufficient, healthy and autonomous lives on individual and collective levels are extremely limited because Indigenous people have developed complexes of behaviour and mental attitudes that reflect their colonial situation. Through a review and consideration of the scholarly literature, it identifies a direct relationship between government laws and policies applied to Indigenous peoples and the myriad mental and physical health problems and economic deprivations. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for developing policy responses to the situation which are oriented towards supporting and facilitating Indigenous people’s reconnection to their homelands, restoration of land-based cultural practices and the rebuilding of indigenous communities.

https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/ijih/article/download/28982/23931

Colonialism and State Dependency

Tourism and Indigenous Peoples is a unique text examining the role of indigenous societies in tourism and how they interact within the tourism nexus. Unlike other publications, this text focuses on the active role that indigenous peoples take in the industry, and uses international case studies and experiences to provide a global context to illustrate best practice and aid comparison. First published over ten years ago the editors, Butler and Hinch, have thoroughly revised and updated the text to bring together a new collection of contributions and case studies from recognised international authors and those with first hand experiences in this area. Divided into five main sections, the text looks at this topic under the following headings: Involvement: Uses case studies to discuss and compare such as 'campfire' programmes in east Africa, and the employment of indigenous peoples as guides, amongst other cases, Turbulence: Host guest relationships, conflicts on communities and contrasting strategies and results of tourism in indigenous villages in South Africa. Issues: Discusses issues such as authenticity, religious beliefs and managing indigenous tourism in a fragile environment. Progress: Looks at tourism education, tourism and cultural survival and examples of the policy and practice of indigenous tourism. Conclusions: Five contributions from indigenous people on North America, Australasia and Europe to discuss implications and experiences. Each section uses international case studies from, for example, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, Namibia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and South America.

Tourism and indigenous peoples : issues and implications

Many contemporary indigenous movements deploy strategies of counterglobalization that make innovative use of the architecture of globalization. This article examines an indigenous political movement that took legal action to gain compensation and limit the environmental impact of the Ok Tedi copper and gold mine in Papua New Guinea. Even though the campaign sought to balance the desire for economic benefits with the protection of local subsistence practices, its objectives were frequently misinterpreted. Indigenous movements that deviate from an antidevelopment position run the risk of being seen as greedy rather than green. Instead of reproducing allegories about the successful exercise of veto power over development projects, anthropologists need ethnographic accounts that analyze the complex ambitions of indigenous movements and the risks of particular strategies of counterglobalization.

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Indigenous movements and the risks of counterglobalization : Tracking the campaign against Papua New Guinea's Ok Tedi mine

At first blush, it seems a very long reach from the aboriginal hunting camps of the Kluane in Canada’s Yukon wilderness to the poststructuralist environs of modern French philosophy. Yet a careful reading of Paul Nadasdy’s prodigious new work of contemporary ethnography reveals that geographically, culturally, and philosophically the distance involved is much less than might be expected. On the basis of three years of intimate fieldwork in the Kluane aboriginal nation’s main settlement of Burwash Landing, Nadasdy shows that the much-lauded land claims and treaty processes in Canada are, in fact, double-edged swords. The modes of thought, discourse, and organization required by these processes frequently do more to accomplish the erosion of cultural sovereignty than they do to protect or enhance it. Nadasdy starts by questioning the widely held assumption that the state is the monolithic structure its critics (and sometimes its proponents) imagine it to be. This allows him to discuss the complexities of state–nation interactions in the southwest Yukon in interesting ways. He can acknowledge, for example, the genuine concern many bureaucrats have for the well-being of wildlife and for the cultural and political integrity of the Kluane nation while simultaneously calling attention to the dangers for native people inherent to the land claims and treaty negotiations processes. This tactic is not, however, without its perils, as we shall see. Nadasdy stands in a scholarly tradition in ethnography that is best represented, perhaps, by Hugh Brody’s landmark Maps and Dreams or Bruce Chatwin’s slightly earlier. The Songlines, both of which are products of intensive participation in aboriginal communities; the former in Canada, the latter

Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal–State Relations in the Southwest Yukon

Introduction The first question of political philosophy today is not if, or even why, there will be resistance and rebellion, but rather how to determine the enemy against which to rebel. Indeed, often the inability to identify the enemy is what leads the will to resistance around in such paradoxical circles. (Hardt and Negri 2000; 210-11) Let me tell you why you are here. You are here because you know ... that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. [...] The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. (Morpheus, in Wachowski and Wachowski 1999) As the twenty-first century unfolds, it is becoming clear that the ecological and cultural dislocations that marred the last one are increasing in both scope and pace. Put baldly, the Earth faces an impending catastrophe (and for the species and cultures being extinguished, the situation is already catastrophic). (1) Excellent work has been undertaken in diagnosing the Earth's ecological and cultural ills, and even in prescribing cures, yet a series of questions remains. What can account for the worsening relationship between the human species and the rest of the natural world, and among diverse human cultures? Has 'the resistance'--including anti-globalisation protesters, environmental activists and Aboriginal or other Fourth World sovereignty movements (2)--been fighting one enemy or many? If the world is indeed undergoing a cultural homogenisation, then what is the nature of the emerging cultural hegemon? In short, if the problem is 'globalisation', then it becomes crucial to ask: The globalisation of what? This commentary draws links between the interlocking crises facing the planet and the theories of philosopher Gilles Deleuze and his collaborator, psychotherapist and political activist Felix Guattari. (3) The first section outlines in a little more detail the present danger facing the Earth and its inhabitants. From there, I endeavour to provide a lucid explanation of Deleuze's philosophy and a description of the more politically oriented concepts Deleuze developed with Guattari, to render their frequently obscure insights more accessible. The second section then applies Deleuze and Guattari's theories, and especially Deleuze's ontological and epistemological critique of western thought, to a critical analysis of geopolitics and conventional approaches to resource-use management. (4) The argument also draws on scholarly opinion and empirical examples, as well as on qualitative data derived from semi-structured interviews conducted by the author with environmental activists and residents of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in Nuxalk territory in the area of Q'umk'uts/Bella Coola (Bella Coola, British Columbia) and in the Mi'kmaq territory of Unama'kik/Cape Breton (Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia), to illustrate specific problems. (5) It will become clear from this analysis that the status quo is--for both philosophical and material reasons--inherently inequitable and unsustainable. Similarities between the experiences of the Canadian communities studied and those of communities and ecosystems elsewhere in the world suggest that social and ecological problems have a common cause: a globalising 'system' of power/ knowledge that has come to control most of the infrastructure of civilisation. The third section is devoted to describing this vast 'system'--which I dub 'Industria' to provide a single name for a set of complex processes and transformations in social, political and ecological relations. 'Industria' is a concept developed in response to Hardt and Negri's challenge in the first epigraph to this paper. (6) The discussion then moves to a brief consideration of alternative, 'differential' approaches to the conduct of politics and resource-use management. …

https://ccs.ukzn.ac.za/files/14093613.pdf

William T. Hipwell

Papers

Hunters and Bureaucrats: Power, Knowledge, and Aboriginal–State Relations in the Southwest Yukon

A Deleuzian critique of resource-use management politics in Industria