Indigenous Rights

Charles Brown CharlesB at CNCL.ci.detroit.mi.us
Mon Nov 9 12:26:52 PST 1998


The Leninist theory of national liberation and rights of national self-determination of oppressed nations and nationalities addresses this issue.

In the Soviet Union, there were groups with modes of production ( hunters and nomads) comparable to the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. There was a political unit of Autonomous Region which was of a sub-national character.

For an application of this "Marxist thought" to Native American struggles see "Native Americans and the Nationalities Question: Premises for a Marxist Approach to Ethnicity and Self-Determination" by David A. Muga in _Nature,Society and Thought_ Vol. 1, no.1 Fall 1987.

Also, see my "Social Philosophy of Yurok Land Recovery" and "Indigenous Knowledge in Aboriginal Land Recovery".

Charles Brown

Detroit


>>> G*rd*n <gcf at panix.com> 11/09 8:35 AM >>>
Louis Proyect:
> ...
> 3) Defending indigenous rights: Makah, Blackfoot and Navajo are all
> involved in extremely militant actions in defense of their traditions.
> There should be support from the broader progressive movement.
> ...

Can someone give a precis of Marxist thought on the subject of indigenous rights, especially in land? The idea seems sort of Lockean to me.

I do understand how indigenous rights fit into the _liberal_ scheme of things -- in fact, classical liberal principles would give the American Indians a lot more rights than they now have, like the right to form independent nation-states. But would Marxists agree?



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