Government relations

This thesis uncovers a deep and recurring link between two indigenista texts of the 20th Century: Balâun Canâan, by Rosario Castellanos, and "El problema del indio," by Jose Carlos Mariâategui. Mariategui's text, an essay, takes a deductive approach to prove that the "Indian's problem" in Peru is related to the concentration of land in the hands of his oppressors. Using Marxist theory, Mariâategui shows that only through more equitable distribution of land can the indigenous Peruvian's fortunes be improved. Castellanos chooses the years of the Cardenas presidency (1934-1940) for her novel, a work that deals with the legacy of the Mexican Revolution. Set in Chiapas, Mexico, autobiographical and fictitious elements and characters dramatize a conflict over indigenous rights to land and education on a criollo family's enormous estate. Supported by intellectual criticism from a number of fields, this thesis connects episodes from Castellanos's novel with the core premises of Mariâategui's essay.

This thesis examines identity as a process, how it is a reflection of, or reaction to, social, economic, and political circumstances. Identity is examined, through an ethnographically informed analysis, as it is represented, contested, and focused in the visual discourse of a small population. The research suggests that identity manifests at specific and strategic moments within the symbolic practices of resistance in coastal Ecuador. Grievances to economic and political power structures are acted out in clear-cut identity terms, or motifs, and function to organize diverse interests into social action. The study illustrates two identity motifs that are commonly asserted in the local context: depictions of being indigenous and of being the underdog. Using local examples, this thesis addresses the complexities of identity formation, examines the strategic capacity of identity, and offers insight into the relationships between identity, resistance, and power.

Throughout the twentieth century, the Seminole Tribe of Florida has experienced unprecedented changes to their culture, independence, and economic position. They began the century as subsistence based people with few rights to the land, and they ended the century with substantial political power and economically prosperous enterprises while maintaining their tribal status and identity as Seminoles. In the twentieth century, the Seminoles confirmed their historical role from the nineteenth century as having never been defeated, but rather than achieving this image through war acts, as they did in the nineteenth century, they created a new role as being culturally and economically indomitable. This aspect of Seminole history has been largely ignored in the narrative of Florida's history.