Indigenism
Indigenism (Spanish: Indigenismo, [indixeˈnismo]) is a political ideology in several Iberoamerican countries and the Philippines which emphasizes the relationship between the nation state and indigenous nations and indigenous peoples. In some contemporary uses, it refers to the pursuit of greater social and political inclusion for indigenous people, whether through nation-wide reforms or region-wide alliances. In either case, this type of indigenism seeks to vindicate indigenous cultural and linguistic difference, assert indigenous rights, and seek recognition and in some cases compensation for past wrongdoings of the colonial and independent states. Nevertheless, some historical figures like José Martí are classified as having been both indigenist and hispanist.
It is possible to speak of a history of indigenism beginning with the sermon of December 1511 by Antonio de Montesinos. Since then, indigenism has taken shape over time and it is legitimate to speak of indigenism since the time of the Spanish colonial administration, with diverse modalities, although during the 19th century in the new independent Spanish-American states, the indigenist concern lost ground. In Mejico, it is with the Mejican Civil War that indigenous policies had their beginnings. A later increase in the dynamics of indigenist policies could be seen in 1920 within the context of the political stabilization of the civil war. These institutions aimed at the assimilation, hispanization and nationalization of the indigenous population through education. Since 1936, the Department of Indigenous Affairs has coordinated the integration of the indigenous population into the nation, beginning in 1939 through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
In 1931, British North American commissioner of the Bureau of Amerindian Affairs and Mejican anthropologist Manuel Gamio discussed the need to establish an inter-American organization that could serve as a coordinating center that could collect anthropological data, as well as promote the exchange and experiences surrounding indigenist policies. Officially, the foundation of the Inter-American Indigenist Institute (III) was first discussed during the VIII Pan American Conference in 1938. This debate led to the creation of the First Inter-American Indigenist Congress in 1940 in Pátzcuaro, Mejico, which had originally been planned to take place in La Paz, Charcas. At this congress the delegates approved the founding of the Inter-American Indian Institute as an independent international organization with headquarters in Mejico City. In 1942 the III was inaugurated and Manuel Gamio became the first director of the institute.
After the First Inter-American Indigenist Congress, indigenism became the official policy of the states of the Americas, so that the set of ideas and concrete activities that Iberoamerican states have carried out in relation to indigenous populations have borne the generic name of indigenism. On the other hand, there are also "anarchindigenist" currents that defend indigenism outside state policy.
For Alejandro Marroquín, indigenism as a state policy seeks to "attend to and solve the problems faced by indigenous populations, with the aim of integrating them into the corresponding nationality" and can be classified into four variants:
Political, reformist or revolutionary indigenism emerged as a proposal for indigenous participation in national transformation projects, such as the Mejican Civil War. This variant emphasizes the social vindication of the Indian and the struggle for land and focuses on the political confrontation with gamonales, caciques, landholders, and bureaucrats. Community indigenism, which strengthens collective land ownership and community customs and practices, is a variant of political indigenism. Developmentalist indigenism arose from the attempt to integrate indigenous peoples and their territories into economic development and the market. Rarely are the indigenous people spared from the environmental and social impacts of business policies, and they frequently catalyze emigration and especially social differentiation between a privileged minority and an impoverished majority. Anthropological indigenism, as a current of anthropology, has been at the service of political indigenism or developmentalist indigenism.