The current situation in Colombia's Vaupés region involves a complicated mosaic of various change agents, colonists, and indigenous communities. This paper discusses the role of the anthropologist investigating ethnic nationalism in such a setting, asking questions about: (a) the best position to take with respect to helping local communities carve out geographical and cultural space for themselves; (b) how best to help Indian organizations, when requested, understand the costs and benefits of proposed development projects; (c) how best to analyze, write about, and interact with local indigenous organizations and the communities they represent when different factions see things differently; and (d) in such cases, who constitutes a concerned anthropologist's constituency? The general issue of what the role of anthropology should be in such highly politicized situations is also considered.
The politics of ethnographic practice in the Colombian vaupés
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.