Humanities 2016, 5(3), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/h5030053
The Double Binds of Indigeneity and Indigenous Resistance
1
Department of History, School of Histories & Humanities, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
2
Department of History, Yale University, 320 York Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8324, USA
3
Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
4
Pacific Basin Research Center, Soka University of America, 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, USA
5
Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 10 Sachem St, New Haven, CT 06520-8277, USA
6
Peabody Museum of Natural History, PO Box 208118, New Haven, CT 06520-8118, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Karen L. Thornber and Tom Havens
Received: 4 March 2016 / Revised: 21 June 2016 / Accepted: 28 June 2016 / Published: 15 July 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Indigeneities and the Environment)
Abstract
During the twentieth century, indigenous peoples have often embraced the category of indigenous while also having to face the ambiguities and limitations of this concept. Indigeneity, whether represented by indigenous people themselves or others, tends to face a “double bind”, as defined by Gregory Bateson, in which “no matter what a person does, he can’t win.” One exit strategy suggested by Bateson is meta-communication—communication about communication—in which new solutions emerge from a questioning of system-internal assumptions. We offer case studies from Ecuador, Peru and Alaska that chart some recent indigenous experiences and strategies for such scenarios. View Full-TextKeywords:
double-bind; indigeneity; resistance; sumak kawsay; REDD+; Bristol Bay; development; land rights; self-determination; counter-mapping
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Ludlow, F.; Baker, L.; Brock, S.; Hebdon, C.; Dove, M.R. The Double Binds of Indigeneity and Indigenous Resistance. Humanities 2016, 5, 53.
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