Reply To: Mon 14 Apr: The Perception of the Environment

In response to Michael Deflorian:

I really like the point that you bring up Michael about the difficulty of “scaling-up” phenomenological perspectives. Whether that is an individual human beings ability to connect intentionally and consciously with global landscapes as opposed to uncritical abstract inherited notions of environment, or transferring the relational model of identity formation onto larger social or political structures.
Discussing indigeneity is such a difficult thing to do as drawing the boundaries for this group is an impossible task. Certainly for better or for worse there are transnational networks like the UN and World Council on Indigenous Peoples that facilitate points of articulation between many local communities identifying as indigenous. Yet anthropologists like Tim Ingold also play a role in legitimizing and withholding indigenous status on people through their discourse. I actually believe that indigenous is a problematic label to affix to people, and drawing on ethnographic examples of hunter-gather world-views to deconstruct this misnomer unfortunately serves to legitimize it, and as you point out Michael this has very real political ramifications.