Suchergebnisse

One prevalent issue regarding the enfranchisement of Indigenous communities within the politics of the Caribbean includes the idea that such communities cease to exist. Though the impact of European colonization in the region proved to be destructive to Indigenous ways of life, this impact was far from exterminatory, and Caribbean govern- ments and authorities who argue the contrary base their testimony upon groundless claims. This paper analyses the actions of Trinidad and Tobago's post-independence government in curating a nationalist discourse based on the histories of its Afro-Creole population, and how that discourse was ultimately founded on a complete disregard for the country's Indigenous population. The paper first delves into the colonial extinction narratives that have served to restrain Trinidad's Indigenous community, then it investi- gates various biological and historical evidence that prove Indigenous diffusion beyond the limits outlined in extinction narratives. Finally, Trinidad's Afro-Creole-based nation- alism is explored to gain insight on how such an ethnically-driven nationalism has hindered the concerns of Trinidad's overall Indigenous community.

A contradiction exists in the social construction of Indigenous populations in that the categories and contexts of postcolonial demography inevitably reflect social and economic institutions that frame the lives of the majority populations. Because such categories are rarely inclusive of Indigenous ways of being, key aspects of Indigenous sociality are either missing or misrepresented in official statistics. This paper examines the limitations of official statistics for social profiling of Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand. Using case studies, it describes ways in which Indigenous polities are themselves responding to these limitations by generating their own demographic profiles and social indicators as a form of community governance. Attention is also given to the in official statistics might be "indigenized" in order to better meet the needs of Indigenous communities and organisations.