Ethnic reorganization

American Indian social, economic, political, and cultural strategies for survival

Bibliographic Data

ID2145757
AuthorsJ Nagel (0000-0002-6452-0297, University of Kansas), C Matthew Snipp (University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Year1993
Volume16
Issue2
Pages203-235
Publication date1993-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnic and Racial Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0141-9870 • E-ISSN: 1466-4356
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01419870.1993.9993780
OpenAlexW2165972387
LanguageEN
Citations received28
References cited94

In this article, we argue that there is an important, but as yet unidentified, process involved in the maintenance and reconstruction of ethnic identity. We call this process 'ethnic reorganization'. We argue that this process is useful for understanding the ethnic survival of indigenous peoples in colonized societies, as well as for illuminating the processes of ethnic renascence among both indigenous and immigrant groups. We find it especially useful in accounting for both the persistence and the transformation of American Indian ethnicity in the United States. Ethnic reorganization occurs when an ethnic minority undergoes a reorganization of its social structure, redefinition of ethnic group boundaries, or some other change in response to pressures or demands imposed by the dominant culture. From this viewpoint, ethnic reorganization is a mechanism that facilitates ethnic group survival, albeit in a modified form. We specify several types of ethnic reorganization. These include: social reorganization, economic reorganization, political reorganization, and cultural reorganization. We argue that ethnic reorganization represents a central mechanism of ethnic change. We present evidence of these forms of ethnic reorganization among many different American Indian societies faced with demographic and cultural extinction

Development economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Ethnic history · Immigration · Indigenous · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Gender Studies · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics