Transnational Indigenous Migration: Racialized Geographies and Power in Southern Highland Ecuador

Author

Victoria Stone-Cadena, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Anthropology

Advisor

Marc Edelman

Committee Members

Ana Yolanda Ramos-Zayas

Donald Robotham

John Collins

Subject Categories

Anthropology | Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Geography | Human Rights Law | Immigration Law | International and Area Studies | International Humanitarian Law | Political Science | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Keywords

Transnationalism, Indigenous Migration, Ecuador, Latin America, Mobility

Abstract

This study examines the shifting landscape of social and economic inequalities in the remittance-dominated region of southern highland Ecuador, focusing on the transformations brought about by increased international migration since the early 2000s. The broader question is whether or not transnational migration has facilitated political and social upward mobility among indigenous communities. More specifically I ask: in what ways does indigenous identity figure in contemporary international migration practices, how does transnational indigenous migration complicate bounded notions of rural indigenous life, and how might the strategies employed by indigenous migrants transform social and economic inequalities in two small towns in the Cañar province? In order to answer these questions, I engage a theoretical framework which draws from transnationalism and mobility studies and migration industry literature in order to more accurately depict the multiple and intersecting dimensions of contemporary indigenous migration.

Recommended Citation

Stone-Cadena, Victoria, "Transnational Indigenous Migration: Racialized Geographies and Power in Southern Highland Ecuador" (2016). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1550