Language Revitalization, State Regulation, and Indigenous Identity in Urban Amazonia

Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 11-8-2013 12:00 AM In the House of Transformation: Language Revitalization, State Regulation, and Indigenous Identity in Urban Amazonia Sarah A. Shulist The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Tania Granadillo The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Sarah A. Shulist 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Linguistic Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Shulist, Sarah A., "In the House of Transformation: Language Revitalization, State Regulation, and Indigenous Identity in Urban Amazonia" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1695. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1695 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IN THE HOUSE OF TRANSFORMATION: LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION, STATE REGULATION, AND INDIGENOUS IDENTITY IN URBAN AMAZONIA (Thesis format: Monograph) by Sarah Shulist Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Sarah Shulist 2013 Abstract This dissertation examines the practices surrounding advocacy for Indigenous language revitalization and maintenance in order to better understand the changing nature of of ethnolinguistic identity and the politics of culture in the Brazilian Amazon. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas, it specifically considers the complex challenges created for language revitalization activism among urban and diasporic Indigenous populations. São Gabriel is a small, highly multilingual city, in which speakers of 21 languages from 5 language families live and come into contact with one another, and in which individuals commonly speak multiple Indigenous languages. Although Indigenous people are numerically dominant within the population, they continue to experience high levels of social marginalization and stigmatization of their cultural identities and practices. Efforts to revitalize Indigenous languages are therefore highly complex political processes. This dissertation considers the ways in which the changing context of state policy, the influence of outside actors (including academic linguists and anthropologists), and the structures of the Indigenous political movement intersect to shape both the linguistic and social outcomes of language revitalization efforts. I analyze the discourses, policies, and practices surrounding Indigenous language use and promotion in the city of São Gabriel in order to engage in the process of language ideological clarification. By exposing the language ideological frames in which these sociolinguistic practices are embedded, my research demonstrates that the challenges to implementing language revitalization efforts in the urban centre are not merely pragmatic, but rather are rooted in deeply-held beliefs about the role that Indigenous languages should play in defining identity and shaping social relationships. These ideologies perpetuate an indexical relationship between Indigeneity and rurality, and despite efforts to valorize and promote Indigenous languages in the urban area, support the ongoing shift towards Portuguese monolingualism. This research demonstrates the need to reconsider understandings of ethnolinguistic identity in relation to multilingualism and language revitalization planning, as well as to re-evaluate approaches to language revitalization that fail to consider the diverse needs of urban and diasporic people. ii Keywords language revitalization, language ideologies, Amazonian languages, Indigenous identity, diaspora, urbanization, multilingualism, ethnolinguistic identity, collaborative anthropology iii Acknowledgments It would be a considerable understatement to say that this dissertation would not have been possible without the support and assistance of a large number of individuals and groups, and my sincere offer of thanks in these acknowledgments seems woefully insufficient in the face of the contributions that many of these people have made to the work presented here. Financially, this work was supported by grants and scholarships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the University of Western Ontario Department of Anthropology, and the individual scholarship donation funding provided by Dr. Regna Darnell. These people and organizations made it possible for me to conduct this research without stress about the availability of funds, and for that I am extremely grateful. Administratively, my work in Brazil was made possible by the assistance of the Instituto Nacional das Pesquisas Amazônicas (INPA) and specifically by the individual efforts of Ana Carla Bruno, whose tireless assistance in helping me to obtain the necessary permits and documentation was absolutely indispensible, and undoubtedly more of an investment than she originally bargained for. Ana Carla’s support and encouragement in exchanging ideas about my research was also of great value in helping me orient myself to living in and thinking about the Amazon region. Equally important was the support of the Federação das Organizações Indígenas do Rio Negro (FOIRN), especially President Abrahão de Oliveira França, and the rest of the 2008-2012 board of directors. Of these directors, I am most especially indebted to Maximiliano Correo Menezes for a never-ending supply of suggestions, guidance, encouragement, and advice, and to Erivaldo Almeida Cruz, for a constantly welcoming ear and willingness to engage with my questions. Tragically, I must express these thanks to Cruz posthumously, and his sudden death in late 2012 constitutes a major loss for the Indigenous people of the region. I also benefited greatly from discussions with the staff of FOIRN’s Department of Education, most notably Denivaldo Cruz da Silva and Tarcísio Luciano dos Santos. The Kotiria people of São Gabriel offered an openness to working with me that not only deepened the quality of my research, but also enriched my life in indescribable ways, as we came to count many of them among our friends. I am particularly grateful among this group to Miguel Cabral, Franssinete Ferraz Henrique, and Flávio, Claudia, and Gabriela Ferraz. The open door of Franssi’s home, and the welcoming smiles of her entire family, were also among the most positive aspects of our life in São Gabriel. Adjusting to life in the Northwest Amazon was made much easier by the warm smile and open heart of my dear friend Angelina Lima, and by Marcivânia Massa Menezes, whose help with childcare and housework, and whose constantly positive attitude, lightened our load and brightened our spirits. On the academic side, I benefited immensely from contact with other researchers who have worked in and around São Gabriel. Kristine Stenzel connected me with the Kotiria organization with whom I came to work very closely, while Janet Chernela also provided an excellent source of insight and guidance about how to approach the concerns this group faced in registering their organization. Both of these women helped me to form what I hope will be lasting and highly productive collaborative relationships with this community. I also enjoyed the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences about working in the Rio Negro region as other researchers passed through the city of São Gabriel. Frantomé Pacheco de Oliveira, iv Fabiana Sarges, Erick Souza, Wilson Silva, and Simeon Floyd were all great resources. Outside of São Gabriel, I should also single out Luke Fleming for guidance, suggestions, support, and academic insights about living and conducting research in São Gabriel. In addition to the research process itself, this dissertation is of course the product of life and analysis conducted in Canada. In this area, I must first and foremost thank the Anthropology Department at the University of Western Ontario for an experience over four years that has been, contrary to all stereotypes and expectations about life as a PhD student, entirely positive, supportive, and nurturing. My supervisory committee of Tania Granadillo, Kim Clark, and Karen Pennesi all deserve special thanks, as these three women have been consistently available, open, insightful, and encouraging in providing me with mentorship and guidance. Of these, however, I must especially single out Tania, whose contributions to my work and my life over the past four years cannot possibly be summarized in the space allowed here. From the time of my first meeting with Tania after beginning my PhD, she demonstrated a remarkable ability to understand both the nature of my concerns and the best way of helping me to address them, as well as a level of commitment to my success that I could not have expected. I am very grateful to count her as a friend as well as an advisor, and hope to do justice to her example in my future teaching career. My colleagues at Western, especially Christian Español and Jordan Levy, have been a great source of ideas and encouragement throughout the past four years. Other scholars and friends from outside of UWO – in particular

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