Description
Book SynopsisAn ethnography showing that collective land titling for native peoples is both an enormous accomplishment and a source of new expectations, obligations, and subjectivities within the legally established indigenous territories.
Trade Review"
Governing Indigenous Territories is a beautiful ethnography, a compelling contribution to contemporary debates about sovereignty in Latin America. The story that Juliet S. Erazo tells is about not just Ecuador or Latin America but larger political, economic, social, and ecological histories, practices, and ideologies. This is contemporary ethnography at its best."—
Paige West, author of
From Modern Production to Imagined Primitive: The Social World of Coffee from Papua New Guinea"
Governing Indigenous Territories is a superb work. Through rich ethnographic descriptions, Juliet S. Erazo breaks through essentialized notions of Amazonian Indigenous communities, capturing the dynamic, complex, changing nature of human experience. At the same time, she tells a global story of territoriality and resource use, a story involving local and federal governments, social movements, and nongovernmental organizations. This landmark book will appeal broadly across disciplines and provide a basis for future research."—
Marc Becker, author of
Indians and Leftists in the Making of Ecuador's Modern Indigenous Movements"
Governing Indigenous Territories is an exceptional case study of the complicated issues surrounding concepts of 'indigenous territory,' 'indigenous sovereignty,' and 'territorial citizenship.' It is a sharp, insightful analysis of the extraordinary obligations that modern nation-states often place on indigenous residents who wish to maintain what was previously theirs."—
Jean E. Jackson, coeditor of
Indigenous Movements, Self-Representation, and the State in Latin America“Juliet Erazo’s
Governing Indigenous Territories is a thoughtful ethnography of indigenous politics and ‘territorial citizenship’ in the space of Rukullakta… Ultimately, the case study that this book encompasses is an excellent lens for understanding the political space of encounters between Amazonian Kichwa and the Ecuadorian state and non-state actors….” -- Veronica Davidov * European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies *
“This clear, well-organized book traces the 40-year ethnographic history of a self-governing autonomous region, Rukullakta Territory, in lowland Ecuador, providing a well-documented case study of how a community emerges…. Recommended.” -- D. B. Heath * Choice *
[A]n important book that should have wide appeal among geographers.” -- Karl Offen * Journal of Latin American Geography *
"An insightful study of indigenous sovereignty enactment in the Ecuadorian Amazon as an exercise of continuous cultural and societal negotiation." -- Ileana Baeza Lope * AmeriQuests *
"
Governing Indigenous Territories effectively reminds us of the ambiguities of identity categories and explores how people mobilize identity to push the limits of and remake the categories through which life is governed. Erazo’s narrative is attentive to how these flexibilities are part and parcel of how Rukullacta evolved as a territorial entity—what she calls 'everyday forms of territorial formation.' " -- Gabriela Valdivia * American Anthropologist *
"
Governing Indigenous Territories is a significant contribution to the literature on Ecuadoran and Latin American indigenous politics. It is well-suited for teaching, and will be appreciated by specialists." -- Bret Gustafson * Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology *
“A valuable and thought provoking contribution.” -- Melissa M. Forbis * PoLAR *
Table of ContentsList of Maps ix
Selected Acronyms xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface xvii
Introduction 1
1. History, Empowerment, and Rule 27
2. Collectivist Utopias and "The Graveyard of Development Projects" 61
3. The Property Debate 97
4. Conservation and Environmental Subjects 133
5. Everyday Forms of Territory Formation 171
Conclusion. Making Citizens, Making Leaders, Making Territories 195
Appendixes 201
Notes 205
References 215
Index 227
