Gender And Indigenous Self-Representation In The Zápara Nationality Of Ecuador

Resumen

Abstract This essay examines the construction of gender within Ecuadorian indigenous politics from the perspective of the Zápara Nationality of Ecuador–a small, newly formed indigenous organization in the country's Amazonian region. Specifically, it shows how the interaction between national-level and local-level gendered discourses of indigenous culture has resulted in limited space for Zápara women's political participation. Keywords: EcuadorZáparaindigenous peoplesgenderpolitical participation Acknowledgements Research for this essay was provided in part by a Dissertation Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. An earlier version of this essay was presented at the American Anthropological Association meetings in 2006. The author would like to give special thanks to Casey High for reading the paper, since the author was not able to attend. The author is also grateful to Xochitl Villenueve for her comments on an earlier draft and would like to thank the editors and four anonymous reviewers at Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies who provided thoughtful comments on the initial drafts of this work that greatly strengthened the final version. Notes [1] The names of the communities are Llanchamacocha, Mazaramu, Jandiayacu, Cuyacocha, Shiona, Balsaura and San José del Curaray. [2] There is now another Zápara organization that also calls itself NAZAE that is based in the town of Shell and represents a group of communities on the lower Conambo River near the Peruvian border. For a more detailed discussion of the interactions between the two Zápara organizations, see Bilhaut (2005 Andrade Pallares, C. 2000. Záparo's lost secrets. The Courier, April: 19–22. [Google Scholar]) and Viatori (2007 Viatori, M. 2007. ‘Zápara leaders and identity construction in Ecuador: the complexities of indigenous self-representation’. Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology, 12(1): 104–133. [Google Scholar], pp. 120–125). [3] Martin (2003 Martin, P. 2003. The Globalization of Contentious Politics: The Amazonian Indigenous Rights Movement, New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar], p. 72), notes that the number of NGOs in the Ecuadorian Amazon working on environmental preservation and sustainable development grew from almost none in the 1980s to over 200 by the late 1990s. [4] Environmental NGOs such as Global Greengrants, the Rainforest Action Network, the Rainforest Information Centre, the Seeds Foundation and Amazon Watch (among others) were active in helping to organize and support NAZAE. [5] Rogers (1998 Rogers, M. 1998. ‘Spectacular bodies: folklorization and the politics of identity in Ecuadorian beauty pageants’. Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 3(2): 54–85. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) explores the gender politics of these pageants in greater detail. [6] Traditional Zápara healers or shamans (in a broad sense of the word, including all individuals who are seen as possessing special powers) are often considered to function on the margins of normal social relationships and expectations, although they play an integral role in creating and framing cultural space and social relationships (Whitehead & Wright, 2004 Whitehead, NL and Wright, R. 2004. In Darkness and Secrecy: The Anthropology of Assault Sorcery and Witchcraft in Amazonia, Durham: Duke University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). [7] The current situation of Zápara women may in part be attributable to the Záparas’ relatively recent entry into indigenous politics in lowland Ecuador in comparison with other nationalities, such as the Kichwa and Shuar, which began to incorporate women's issues and leaders into their federations as early as the 1980s. However, critics note that the leadership in these nationalities continues to be male-based and the inclusion of women's issues may have been primarily for the benefit of external funders (Radcliffe, 2002 Radcliffe, S. 2002. “‘Indigenous women, rights and the nation-state in the Andes’”. In Gender and the Politics of Rights and Democracy in Latin America, Edited by: Craske, N and Molyneux, M. 149–172. New York: Palgrave. [Google Scholar]).