Histories of the Present

Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction: To Remake the World 1 Prelude 23 1. Colonial Mentality in Making the World 25 Prelude 43 2. Indigenous Constructions of ''Blackness'' 45 Norman E. Whitten Jr. and Rachel Corr Prelude 65 3. The Topology of El Mestizaje 67 Prelude 91 4. The Ecuadorian Indigenous Uprising of 1990 93 Prelude 115 5. Ecuador in the New Millennium 117 Prelude 141 6. Indigenous Ethnographers Portray Their World 143 Dorothea Scott Whitten Prelude 163 7. Indigenous Modernity 165 Conclusion: Ethnography and Theory in Cultural Life 187 Notes 203 References 211 Index 243

''The length and breadth of the Whittens' fieldwork in Ecuador adds a level of depth and insight that is unparalleled in Latin American studies. Their way of integrating earlier and more recent theories allows readers to understand how the contemporary concern for ethnogenesis, interculturality, and alternative modernities was anticipated several decades ago in works that still speak to us today in relevant terms.'' Jonathan D. Hill, author of Made-from-Bone: TricksterMyths, Music, and History from the Amazon ''Brimming with urgency and outrage, this fresh and engaging book examines the recent and profound transformation of racial and ethnic politics in Ecuador. The Whittens challenge us to reexamine assumptions about 'marginal peoples' and their relationship to the structural powers of the nation-state, armed forces, multinational corporations, and international agencies.'' Kris Lane, author of Quito 1599: City and Colony in Transition