Indigenous Cosmopolitans: New Book on Transnational and Transcultural Indigeneity in the Twenty-First Century

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Published by Peter Lang USA, 2010:
New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien.
X, 223 pp., num. ill.
ISBN 978-1-4331-0102-1
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Book Synopsis:

What happens to indigenous culture and identity when being rooted in a fixed cultural setting is no longer necessary – or even possible? Does cultural displacement mean that indigeneity vanishes? How is being and becoming indigenous (i.e., indigeneity) experienced and practiced along translocal pathways? How are “new” philosophies and politics of indigenous identification (indigenism) constructed in “new,” translocal settings? The essays in this collection develop our understandings of cosmopolitanism and transnationalism, and related processes and experiences of social and cultural globalization, showing us that these do not spell the end of ways of being and becoming indigenous. Instead, indigeneity is reengaged in wider fields, finding alternative ways of being established and projected, or bolstering older ways of doing so, while reaching out to other cultures.

Reviewers’ comments:

“Timely and original, this volume looks at indigenous peoples from the perspective of cosmopolitan theory and at cosmopolitanism from the perspective of the indigenous world. In doing so, it not only sheds new light on both, but also has something important to say about the complexities of identification in this shrinking, overheated world.Analysing ethnography from around the world, the authors demonstrate the universality of the local – indigeneity – and the particularity of the universal – cosmopolitanism. Anthropology doesn’t get much better than this.”–Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Professor of Anthropology, University of Oslo; author of Globalisation.

“This collection takes the anthropological study of indigeneity to an entirely new level. Bringing together an impressive range of case studies, from the Inuit in the north to Aboriginal Australian in the south, the authors fundamentally challenge the assumption that that indigeneity and transnationalism are separate and opposed conditions. They reveal with engaging ethnographic richness and historical depth that contemporary indigeneity is a rooted cosmopolitanism and that this indigeneity of roots and routes is being continually reinvented in ways that challenge conventional understandings, both within anthropology and in the wider public arena. This exploration of re-rooted cosmopolitanisms and remixed cosmopolitan indigeneities is also a major contribution to the anthropology of globalisation….This theoretically sophisticated collection will be essential reading for anyone in the humanities and social sciences seeking to understand the nature of contemporary indigeneity.”–Jeffrey Sissons, Associate Professor, Cultural Anthropology, School of Social and Cultural Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, Author of First Peoples: Indigenous Cultures and Their Futures.

Contents:

Maximilian C. Forte: Introduction: Indigeneities and Cosmopolitanisms

Maximilian C. Forte: A Carib Canoe, Circling in the Culture of the Open Sea: Submarine Currents Connecting Multiple Indigenous Shores

Craig Proulx: Aboriginal Hip Hoppers: Representin’ Aboriginality in Cosmopolitan Worlds

Carolyn Butler-Palmer: David Neel’s The Young Chief-Waxwaxam: A Cosmopolitan Treatise

Arthur Mason: Whither the Historicities of Alutiiq Heritage Work Are Drifting

Frans J. Schryer: The Alto Balsas Nahuas: Transnational Indigeneity and Interactions in the World of Arts and Crafts, the Politics of Resistance, and the Global Labor Market

Julie-Ann Tomiak/Donna Patrick: Transnational Migration and Indigeneity in Canada: A Case Study of Urban Inuit

Robin Maria DeLugan: “Same Cat, Different Stripes”: Hemispheric Migrations, New Urban Indian Identities, and the Consolidation of a Cosmopolitan Cosmovision

Linda Scarangella: Indigeneity in Tourism: Transnational Spaces, Pan-Indian Identity, and Cosmopolitanism

Nigel Rapport: Conclusion: From Wandering Jew to Ironic Cosmopolite: A Semi-Utopian Postnationalism

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Taino Awards

New York, New York (UCTP Taino News) http://uctp.blogspot.com/ - A diverse group of Taino community members gathered on Saturday, 24 April to support the second annual “Taino Awards.” The event was held at the Nuyorican Poets Café and it was presented by the KuKarey Spiritual Circle and Yamocuno Tanama Yucayeke Taino organizations.

Hosted by Caridad "Kachianao" de la Luz, the awards celebrated individuals “who unselfishly give of themselves everyday to the Taino community.” The awards recognized educators, artists, humanitarians, youth, elders and other community members.

The 2010 award recipients included Vanessa Inarunikia Pastrana, Roman Perez, Carlos Rivera, Jose Munoz Vazquez, Mildred Cruz, Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague, Enrique Correa, Casa Atabex Ache, Edwin Cedeno, Taino Almestica, Francisco Baerga, Luis Ramos, Joe Kaonabo Garcia, Dalia Viera, and Roberto Mukaro Agueibana Borrero.

http://uctp.blogspot.com/

New Birth Certificates Wont Curb Identity Theft

IF you are a Puerto Rican living on the island, or living in the states, your birth certificate wont be valid.

This past December Puerto Rico's legislature passed a new law that invalidates as of July 1 all previously issued Puerto Rican birth certificates. The action comes after raids in March of 2009 exposing a criminal ring which had stolen birth certificates and other identifying documents from several different schools in Puerto Rico.

Kenneth McClintock Hernandez, the commonwealth's secretary of state says Puerto Ricans on average get about 20 copies of their birth certificates over their lifetimes because originals are required for enrolling children in school or sports and other community activities. Schools and other institutions have typically kept copies, a practice prohibited under the new law since January, McClintock said.

The State Department says as much as 40 percent of the identity fraud in the U.S. involves birth certificates from Puerto Rico.

The new law does not address, however, the thousands of children born in the states who are being raised on the island. I have 5 children who's original birth certificates and copies of social security numbers are held in primary and secondary schools in three cities. Since we lived in an area between two cities, the children attended two primary schools in two different cities and were separated in two high schools to meet their individual career interests. What will happen to my children as they turn 18, apply for jobs, or apply for credit?

Recently a friends son applied for the armed services. He was denied because he was told his birth certificate was invalid. Apparently someone had stolen his identity as a child. The person subsequently died and now my friends son couldn't register. It took time to get it all sorted out, and the military had interest in sorting it out because they need recruits. How much time and effort is the car dealership, bank or universities going to take to fix a problem that isn't theirs when a child who has had his or her identity stolen becomes of legal age?

Reprinting of birth certificates wont stop identity thieves from gaining access to the new certificates either. I can imagine that the persons holding the originals are submitting them today, in order to receive a new false identity document. For those who have already had their identities stolen, getting a new birth certificate wont fix the damaged credit or other issues either.

Grandfather Cyril Taylor Educational Scholarship Awarded

Grandfather Cyril Taylor Educational Scholarship Awarded

Elijay, GA (UCTP Taino News) - The 2009/2010 Grandfather Cyril Taylor Yabisi Caona Scholarship has been awarded to community member Monika Mamona Ponton-Arrington. A Boriken Taino who resides in Georgia, Arrington is a returning nursing student attending Chattahoochee Technical College. The educational stipend named in honor of elder Cyril Oscar Taylor (Carib) is focused toward giving Caribbean indigenous students’ modest financial assistance toward the purchase of school text books or supplies.

Fund applicants range from youth to adults continuing their education. They must be registered members of Caribbean indigenous communities or organizations. Potential recipients are required to submit an essay describing their community service and how they envision their education contributing to service in the future.

The Grandfather Cyril Taylor Yabisi Kaona Scholarship is sponsored by the United Confederation of Taino People, the Bohio Atabei Caribbean Indigenous Women’s Circle, and Mrs. Marie Taylor (Meherrin). For community members interested in applying for the 2010/2011 funding cycle are encouraged to check the UCTP web portal at www.uctp.org for updates.

This is a reprint from UCTPTN A Communications Service of the United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP)