The Anthropology Of Genocide - WNLibrary

66 modernity’s edges
ment.” Not only were the natural resources of indigenous groups exploited, but so,
too, were their human resources, with their labor being utilized in the quest for economic
profits (International Labour Office 1953). Mistreatment of minorities is a
widespread part of genocidal actions (Kuper 1981, 1985; Chalk and Jonassohn 1990).
ETHNOCIDE, GENOCIDE OR VARIATIONS
THEREOF AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Literally scores of indigenous peoples have been and continue to be the victims of
ethnocide, genocide, or some variation thereof. A detailed discussion of each of
these cases is beyond the scope of this essay, but a table has been generated showing
twentieth-century cases of genocide of indigenous peoples (Table 3.1).The table
contains cases drawn from a variety of sources, including the Urgent Action Bulletins
(UABs) of Survival International, reports and publications by the International
Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Cultural Survival, the Minority Rights Group,
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, and
African Rights, as well as from overviews of the situations of indigenous groups
(Burger 1987, 1990; Miller 1993; Wilmer 1993; Maybury-Lewis 1997; Bodley 1999).
Key citations have been provided below for readers who want to pursue the study
of this issue in more depth.
The cases of twentieth-century genocide cited here represent a number of perspectives
held by researchers regarding the fate of the various victim groups. As
one will see upon reading the various essays and reports cited, while one scholar
may view a particular situation as ethnocide, another may view it as part of a genocidal
process, and yet another may perceive it as outright genocide. The latter situation
makes it abundantly clear as to why certain scholars are working arduously
on the development of new and more exact definitions and typologies of genocide.
Until there is at least a general agreement as to what should and should not constitute
genocide, there will continue to be a certain degree of murkiness in the field.
In light of the ongoing debate and work vis-à-vis definitions, we have made the
conscious choice not to categorize each tragedy specifically as either a case of ethnocide,
genocide, or genocidal massacre because such decisions could be viewed
as somewhat arbitrary. As these cases demonstrate, the genocide of indigenous peoples
is a widespread phenomenon, occurring on every continent and in a variety
of social, political, economic, and environmental contexts.
In virtually every case, genocide is a calculated and generally premeditated set
of actions designed to achieve certain goals, such as the removal of competitors or
the silencing of opponents. Indigenous peoples can also be harmed through the
destruction of their resource base, as occurred, for example, on the Great Plains
of North America with the near-extermination of the buffalo and in the equatorial
zones of South America, Africa, and Asia with the purposeful destruction of
tropical forests.