Indigenous bodies, indigenous minds? Towards an understanding of indigeneity in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Bibliographic Data

ID7096971
AuthorsGabriela Valdivia (0000-0001-9442-8005, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume16
Issue5
Pages535-551
Publication date2009-09-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGender Place & Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0966-369X • E-ISSN: 1360-0524
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09663690903148416
OpenAlexW2028293859
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited73

This article explores how perceptions about bodies and interpersonal exchanges contribute to the production of indigenous subjectivities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Drawing on feminist methodologies and experiences with Cofán, Quichua and Secoya peoples in the province of Sucumbíos, I reflect on how bodies and their 'grammar' can become analytical spaces through which to understand indigeneity. Specifically, I look at the body as object and subject of imaginaries of difference with the goal to examine how moments and interactions through which people commonly identify as 'indigenous' construct, contest and/or maintain indigenous subjectivities. I conclude with a discussion on the possibilities of thinking about and with bodies to further a post-colonial questioning of indigeneity

Amazon rainforest · Archaeology · Colonialism · Construct (python library · CONTEST · Ethnology · Geography · Indigenous · Political science · Sociology · Subject (documents · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Ecology · Gender Studies · Indigenous Cultures and History · Politics and Society in Latin America