Week 21 Flashcards
1940-1970s: Time of Change for Indig. People
- WW2 and Post war development closed the gap between environmentally hidden groups
- Especially because of the help of companies
- Commercial dev., Government sponsored infrastructure, free trade
Two Groups of Indigenous People around WW2
1- Already forced off land (government help)
2 - not yet forced off land (mining and resource affected some but mostly able to avoid them
( Many of them tried to introduce them into the industrial age, and laws)
Contact with Indigenous people and modern world
- Many Indigenous people knew about them but chose to stay away
Cultural Observers
- People who had interest, Antrhopologist, missionaries, adventurers/ journalist and government agents
- there was “gain” to getting to know them, but most people were not interested
Technology and expansion
- modern warfare tech allowed for rapid expansion
- planes, supply planes, telecommunications, speed of troop movements, construction of infrastructure
Allied Powers
- UK, US, Indi, Can, NZ, Australia
Axis powers
- Germany Italy Japan
World War 2 Narratives
- Descriptions neglext occupations of Indigenous territories
- Japan and pacific islands ex.
- many projects like air fields, staging areas etc occupied Indigenous land
- Benign neglect: try to assimilate Indigenous people who don’t spend money (little success often just ignored)
- now most of then drawn into modern world with the war
Ways WW2 Drew Indig. people into modern world
- Bombing
- Occupation
- Dislocation
- Infrastructure projects on Indigenous land
- Influx of soldiers
Arrival of Military led to Disruptions
- Overrunning local economies
- sexual liaison (consensual and forced)
- draining of local resources
- introduction of new material
- (most of the time local/ civil authorites left managment of local affairs to military so no one could contest the mistreatment)
WW2 Debris
- abandoned or civilian use
- many were destroyed
- seized by local authorities
Indigenous people experience in ww2
- Small military role but affected by them
- no government/ group of people consulted them on using land/ resources
- now land is a target of interest for politics
WW2 Summary
- Land Occupied by Indigenous people were drawn into industrial world through war
- Places previously safe because of climate and geography were now open for corps and gov.
Things that Affected occupation/ development of remote regions
- continued military build-up associated with the Cold War
- Keynesian economics: financing deficits to support nations in economic depressions
- rapid expansion of consumerism
(NEED FOR RAW MATERIAL)
Tribal Wishes not part of the development equation because of …
- the rapacious appetite for minerals and raw material
- the needs of the impoverished majority against the desires of a tiny Indigenous minority
Newcomers effect
- extended civil society through regional authorities and greater local decision making (while ignoring/ not involving Indigenous people)
Extractive Industries
- sprang up in the 50s-60s, led to settlement in previously ignored areas
- Hydroelectric projects: affected a lot of area, with flooding and forcing people to move
- infiltrated areas for material (seen as necessary for progress)
New Efforts to assimilate (POST WAR)
- residential schools
- extending schooling to Indigenous people (not boarding style)
- insecurities of resources drew people into the government aid
- Siberia example
- economic collectives, settling mobile people, government sponsored healthcare and education
Western Liberal Democracies
- Guild about increasing wealth disparities and ideology of equality and anti-racism
- led to trying to improve the lives of Indigenous peoples through forced assimilation
Proxy Wars/ Cold War
- governments had trouble in remote areas
- resources which sustained Indigenous people were destroyed quickly
- some tried to join fighting, others were just overrun
- some found occasional work
- little agency here with wide variety of reactions
Chittagong Hills Tribes (Bangladesh)
- Lifting of protection from Indigenous lands
Inverventionist Governments
- res. schools
- settlement plans
- training programs
(Made the save and civilize)
Post war change approach
- went from armed force and construction changed to government projects and economic development schemes (social worker became a tool for cultural suppression and assimilation)
Post war and Indigenous people in Harsh Env.
- few were still protected by environment
- more were actually saved because colonization forces could not afford to follow through
- but no one can escape the effects of global warming
Rapid Change for Indigenous people
- highways, forced relocation, rapid influx of outsiders and new cultural influences
- capitalism as well
- sometimes explicit genocide carried out
- from 40s-70s most people were dispossessed and overrun
Hope for environmental awareness to protect
- did not work
- drew on imagery but not on their lifeways
- mainly interested in the ecosystem rather than the people
List of mistreatments Indigenous people dealt with
- dismantling social systems
- attacks on tribal governance
- generational conflicts
- substance abuse
- increased racism
Rapid changes to Indigenous Communities (postwar)
- dislocation
- government paternalism
- resource extraction
- environmental degradation
- attack on culture and language
Post war Summary
- Did not simply accept these intrusions
- many groups came to depend on the changes like government services
- still voiced their converns and found ways to cope
