Essential Commitments: Identity and the Politics of Cofán Conservation

Abstract

RESUMEN En este artículo, exploro las implicaciones de los discursos ambientalistas indígenas a partir de una investigaciòn sobre el papel del ambientalismo en la vida cotidiana y proyectos políticos del pueblo Cofán de la Amazonía Ecuatoriana. En mi análisis de los discursos y prácticas Cofánes, me pregunto sobre el valor de una perspectiva “anti‐esencialista”, en la retórica ambientalista de los pueblos indígenas como producto instrumental de la política transnacional de identidad. En este sentido, trato de superar las falencias del anti‐esencialismo con una presentación etnográfica del sistema de valorizaciones propias de la gente de Cofán frente al ambiente Amazónico. Sostengo que la apreciación de las conexiones substantivas entre su cultura, identidad, y territorio tradicional determinan la orientación de su participación política en un proceso de auto‐determinación y que consideran compromisos de conservación en base a derechos políticos. En conclusión, las implicaciones más amplias de las propuestas políticas Cofán se encuentran asociadas a una nueva forma de relación entre la gente indígena, el estado, y los movimientos globales de conservación ambiental. In this paper, I explore the meaning of indigenous environmental discourses by investigating the role of conservationism in the everyday lives and political projects of the Cofán people of Amazonian Ecuador. In my analysis of Cofán discourse and practice, I question the productivity of “antiessentialist” approaches, which portray indigenous peoples' environmentalist rhetoric as an instrumental product of transnational identity politics. I seek to move past the blind spots of antiessentialism by constructing an ethnographic account of Cofán people's shifting valorizations of the Amazonian environment. I argue that Cofán actors' appreciation of the substantive connections between their culture, their identity, and their traditional territory orients their participation in a process of self‐determination that bases political rights on conservationist commitments. I conclude by considering the broader lessons of Cofán political proposals, which envision a novel form of interaction between indigenous peoples, nation‐states, and global environmental movements.

The Loss of Oil: Constituting Disaster in Amazonian Ecuador

“…Avoiding the pitfalls of quietism, hyperbole, and surrender, the Cofán are struggling to articulate their position in a way that expresses both the seriousness of their situation and their realistic hope for surviving it. Cofán leaders are pursuing an ambitious vision of territorial recovery, environmental conservation, and political‐economic empowerment (Cepek ). They need allies who will help them to achieve their goals.…”

“…In other publications, I have written extensively on Randy Borman's cultural and political position in Cofán society (Cepek , , , ).…”

Questions of Indigeneity and the (Re)‐Emergent Ch'orti' Maya of Honduras

“…These values, however, have largely been promoted by anthropologists, NGOs, and leaders from other indigenous groups. Nevertheless, like the Cofán (Cepek 2008), the Ch'orti's have long practiced communalism in the form of reciprocity and consensus decision-making, and have shared a concern for wild resources that they use for subsistence living. In this sense, in disputes between ''the corrupt materialists'' and ''the communitarian environmentalists,'' one should err towards the latter as the best indigenous representatives, depending on the historical context of each group.…”

“…Essentially, their point is that the social construction of ethnic boundaries does not occur in a historical and cultural vacuum, but preexisting traditions are used to understand and accentuate ethic differences. For example, Cepek (2008) challenges the notion that indigenous performances for outsiders are necessarily inauthentic. The Cofáns' use of environmentalist concepts like ''violating the earth'' and ''biodiversity'' have certainly been borrowed, but they are not insincere because the Cofán have long considered themselves as caretakers of the environment.…”

There might be blood: Oil, humility, and the cosmopolitics of a Cofán petro‐being

“…Their leaders commonly assert that Cofán people are tsampima coira'su (caretakers of the forest) who would cease to be Cofán if the forest were destroyed. The claim is relatively recent, but it is thick with “sociocultural substance” (Cepek , 202). To dismiss it as just another bit of self‐essentializing, self‐Orientalizing discourse would delegitimize the projects of Cofán activists, who portray themselves as logical allies of Western conservationists.…”