Postcolonialism, Indigenous Identities, and Forced Migration

The Global Impact of Human Migration ANTH 2301 Postcolonialism, Indigenous Identities, and Forced Migration Even while colonialism is typically linked to earlier historical eras as a direct politicaleconomic strategy, its repercussions are still felt in the modern world. Colonialism created long-lasting political-economic ties that have resulted in wealth and privilege concentrations, racism, and violence within the former colonising countries (primarily in Europe), as well as inequality within these countries and their colonies. The term "postcolonialism" refers to these consequences of colonial interactions. When the early 20th century saw the emergence of independence movements, former colonies were left with few resources and had to compete with European nations whose expansion resulted from their own collapse. For anthropologists who study the consequences of colonialism, marginalisation, and intersectionality—the confluence of race, gender, and class identities—postcolonialism is an important subject today. The disparity between the so-called developed and developing (or undeveloped) countries is one of the most notable effects of colonialism. Many political and economic theories emerged after World War II and the emergence of a new global order, making a distinction between "first world" and "third world" countries. First world countries were defined as having the highest GDPs (gross domestic products), which are determined by adding up the value of all the goods and services produced in a nation. The term "second world" was originally used to describe nations ruled by socialist or communist ideologies. The previous colonists were always at the top of the hierarchy, while their old colonies were at the bottom of the tiers. The exploitation of resources and the brain drain migration of Indigenous peoples, in which the wealthiest and most educated members of Indigenous societies moved to the former colonising nation for work and education and many of them left their homelands permanently, were largely to blame for this inequality. Many Indigenous families were destroyed by this outmigration, which also increased the productive potential of wealthier countries. Thus, even after gaining independence, many former colonising nations maintained their power over their erstwhile dependent nations. Neocolonialism is the term used to describe this relationship of uneven influence. A condition frequently referred to as second colonialism, many Indigenous nations are involved in neocolonial connections—that is, arrangements organised to make one country dependent on another—with the nationstates in which they reside (Gandhi 2001). Indigenous people are still being uprooted from their ancestral lands—and even forcibly removed—and relocated to reservations, "model villages," or plain metropolitan neighbourhoods. An involuntary or compelled departure from one's own place, known as forced migration, can lead to destitution, alienation, and a loss of cultural identity. Since the introduction of European settlers, Native Americans have experienced several waves of forced migration. As White invaders drove them towards further western and less agricultural territories, several cultures were forced to relocate many times. The whole forced relocation process has had profound cultural and economic repercussions. Native Americans Richard Meyers (Oglala Lakota) and Ernest Weston Jr. (Oglala Sioux) write: For those who live on our reservation, tragedies of various types are all too often. Community residents face a plethora of issues as a result of endemic poverty, including widespread diabetes and alcoholism as well as vicious dog packs. Here in the United States, depressing statistics portray our reservation as belonging to the "Third World." The figures are indeterminate and consistently dismal: Over 90% of people live below the federal poverty level, and unemployment can occasionally be reported as high as 85–95%. (Weston and Meyers, 2020) Some Indigenous peoples are adapting their cultural traditions to urban areas where they have been forced to migrate, while many Indigenous peoples in Western nations face particular challenges related to Western historical paralysis, in which the nationstate extols the virtues of Indigenous people at a specific time in its history with little or no regard for contemporary Indigenous identities. During her research on Indigenous Manchineri children in the Brazilian state of Acre, Finnish anthropologist Pirjo Virtanen (2006) discovered that young Manchineri adults were reviving their ancient puberty rites. Lowland Amazonian natives known as the Manchineri have long engaged in slash-and-burn farming. Their ability to reach agriculture has decreased over the previous century, making it impossible for them to survive in the wild. Many young Manchineri have left their ancestral homelands to live in cities with other Indigenous peoples in the lowlands of Amazonia. By restoring and modifying some ancient customs, such as the ayahuasca ceremony—in which teenage boys consume a hallucinogenic substance for a spiritual experience—and the menstruation ceremony—in which girls receive guidance from their elders regarding their newfound adulthood—these Manchineri aimed to fortify their cultural identity. Many of these traditional practices were in risk of disappearing, and there are not many Manchineri who still live in their ancient homelands. The urban Manchineri in Acre discovered that among Westerners who valued traditional Indigenous customs, being a "Indigenous person" had social worth. The sharp reduction of Indigenous cultures and populations, along with rising urbanisation and the estrangement of people from rural areas, were major contributors to this increase in appreciation. Rather than being "lumped" into a general category of Indigenous people, the younger generation of Manchineri started to recognise the significance of preserving their unique cultural identity and their traditional cultural origins despite living in an urban setting. They were in a better social position since they identified as Manchineri. This practice of leveraging one's personality to elevate oneself is an illustration of symbolic capital, or the use of non-financial assets to elevate oneself in society. It is difficult for Indigenous peoples in Western nation-states to maintain a distinct identity because of the population reduction and cultural blending brought about by migration into cities, which often leads to the loss of traditional identities. Since different cultural groups have unique identities, Indigenous identity is multifaceted and not monolithic, and it is unrealistic for one spokesperson to accurately represent the whole Indigenous population. Globally, pan-Indigenous activist movements have emerged recently with the goal of bringing Indigenous peoples' voices and visibility to a wider audience. The formation of change-oriented coalitions by Indigenous people is made feasible by these worldwide movements of people and ideas.