A Call for Attention to Indigenous Capitalisms

Authors

  • Alexis Celeste Bunten FrameWorks Institute, Intellectual Property in Cultural Heritage (at) Simon Fraser

Keywords:

Indigenous, Capitalism, Corporations, Self-Determination, Indigenous studies

Abstract

Indigenous Capitalisms are rooted in local concepts of wealth, accumulation and distribution, but they must operate within current global markets. Indigenous Capitalisms reflect Indigenous peoples’ shifting political relationships to settler colonial states and the supranational organizations that drive international policy. As such, articulations of Indigenous Capitalisms can be measured as indices of self-determination, demonstrating to the world that Indigenous political entities engaging in global commerce will likely not simply dissolve into a multi-cultural body politic. Future research in this area should offer new ways of understanding the ties between economic issues and Indigenous lives, challenging existing stereotypes about Indigenous peoples’ stakes in the global economy contributing to the growing discipline of Indigenous Studies.

Author Biography

Alexis Celeste Bunten, FrameWorks Institute, Intellectual Property in Cultural Heritage (at) Simon Fraser

Bunten's areas of expertise include the heritage industry, cultural production and consumption, interpretation, cross-cultural communication, community development, tourism, and the anthropology of work. She is a shareholder in Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and Paug-Vik Village Corporation, Alaska.

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Published

2011-11-30