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| Chapter
2. LOCATION of Indigenous peoples in Mexico - 1st Part | by
Prof. German Estrada
July 8, 2002. | Who
are the Indigenous Peoples? 1. Since colonial times,
there has been a great debate over the definition of who is indigenous. When the
Europeans came into contact with the native populations, they ascribed the category
of "indios" to those groups and peoples who maintained their own identity
and cultural specificity. This presumed a category of people who were different
and inferior from a racial, cultural, linguistic, intellectual and religious viewpoint
and served to justify and rationalize the colonial domination and the privileged
position of the conquerors. This categorization constituted an annulment of the
ethnic diversity and cultural specificity of the Indian population and by so doing
cut off any possibilities for self-development or endogenous cultural evolution.
2. By virtue of this categorization as "indios"
the indigenous peoples have continued to exist as colonial constructs linked to
ethnic cultures that are considered inferior to the culture of the dominant order,
and excluded from the nation's normal life. The construction of an inclusive and
democratic society would result in a gradual dissolution of the categories formed
during the colonial period, and to the recognition of cultural and ethnic diversity,
with a concomitant elimination of the existing prejudices of racial superiority.
3. There is a great amount of ethnographic information
available for each of Mexico's indigenous groups. This national profile, drawing
on this information, confirms the fact that these indigenous populations continue
to be the powerless in a system of asymmetric power relations characterized by
inequities, injustice, and the exclusion of the indigenous population. 4.
There is a great spectrum of indigenous populations in Mexico ranging from groups
with solid ethnic identities and large numbers of population to small groups surviving
at the margin of extinction. Nevertheless, all these groups must be recognized
as historical social entities that have demonstrated a capacity for long-term
sustainability and permanence within a territory where they were once autonomous.
Today these groups aspire to reproduce and continue their social, cultural, political
and religious patterns. The contemporary indigenous organizations are mobilizing
their energies and demands to de-colonize and eliminate the category of "Indian"
in order to recover their own identity and take charge of their own history and
destiny. Definition of "Indio" Definition
of indigenous and ethnic according to Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, "The Concept
of Indigenous in America: a Colonial Construct." "[indio]
is a supra-ethnic categorization which does not denote a specific cultural content
to the groups to which it is ascribed. Rather, it is a categorization which implies
a particular relation between the indios and the other sectors of the global social
system of which they are a part. The category of indio then denotes a condition
of colonized, and has, of necessity, a colonial referent.… The indio is born
when Columbus took possession of Hispaniola in the name of the Catholic Kings.
Before the European discovery, the population of the American continent was formed
of a great number of different societies, each one with its own identity, and
each with different levels of social evolution, ranging from the great Mesoamerican
and Andean civilizations to the bands of hunters and gatherers of the Amazonian
forests." International Labour Organization - Convention
169 Pertaining to Indigenous Populations. Part 1: General
Policy Article I 1. The
present convention applies to:
a) Tribal groups in independent countries
whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sectors
of the national society, and who are governed totally or partially by their own
customs or other special legislation;
b) Peoples in independent countries
considered as indigenous by the fact of descent from original inhabitants of the
country or one of its specific regions during the colonial period or colonization,
or from the establishment of currently existing state borders, and that retain,
regardless of their judicial status, their own social, economic, cultural and
political institutions or parts of them.
2. The self-recognition of their
cultural or tribal identity should be considered as a fundamental criterion to
determine the groups to whom the present convention applies.
3. The use of
the term "peoples" in this convention should not be interpreted in the
sense of that which implies rights to the use of such a term according to international
rights. Next week you can read the 3rd and final part
of this chapter about the location of the indigenous people in Mexico.
gestrada@pvnet.com.mx
Prof. Germán Estrada is the
author of the best selling book, "México
Mágico: Everything You Wanted To Know About... But Nobody Told
You..." available in Puerto Vallarta at The Net House, Mail Boxes, Etc.,
Books, Books as well as directly from the author by internet. Archives
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