Third Edition Spring 2013 - Institute of East Asian Studies, UC ...

existing measures of Japanese supervision and control. 33 The ProtectionAct was revised in 1937 with even greater focus on culturalassimilation, and the ideology of protection continued, largely unchallengeduntil the later half of the 20th century. It was poweredby the myth of a dying population, believed by both Ainu and Japanese,until activists directly confronted this narrative.Law provided the basis for the seizure of Ainu land and resources,and the carefully controlled displacement of Ainu people.Law was an instrument of, not an obstacle to, expansion. Yet lawhas remained the basis of challenging this expansion, within Japanand globally. 34 Through a collectivized identity as indigenous, Ainuhave transcended national space and moved to an internationalspace in which to seek legal protection. The UN itself has authoredthe discourse of what constitutes “indigeneity.” 35 , 36 Within this legalmodel, indigenous identity at once subverts and operates withinan existing conception of nation-states as legal entities. As nonstateactors, rights granted to indigenous groups are arguably acontinuation of protection, which seemingly undermines the veryprinciple of self-determination sought by these indigenous populations.The fusion of indigenous identity constructed by the UNdraws heavily on the metaphor on indigeneity as a claim to virtue,which in turn merits protection. The virtue of an abstracted indigeneityis increasingly rooted in indigenous ecology, which ultimatelyis yet another iteration of the narrative of protection. What mustnot be ignored is that shifting ideologies of virtue formed the veryfoundation upon which laws were constructed in order to displace,assimilate, and ‘protect’ Ainu.33 Ibid., 96.34 Georgina Stevens, “Subject, Object and Active Participant: The Ainu, Law, andLegal Mobilization,” 2008.35 United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 61/295, “Declaration on theRights of Indigenous Peoples,” Sept. 13, 2007.36 Ann-Elise Lewallen, “Bones of Contention: Negotiating Anthropological Ethicswithin Fields of Ainu Refusal,” 2007.Ethnography, Bodies, and ResistanceThe relationship between Ainu Studies and Ainu activismreveals the complexity of the politics of indigeneity, particularlythe ambiguous division of academics and activism. Howell suggeststhat a ‘neutral’ perspective is not only possible, but ideal. Yet, thedynamic of positioning academia as separate and removed fromthe sphere of activism originates in the production of cultural hierarchies.As anthropology and other social sciences contemplatemodels of ‘engaged’ or ‘applied’ studies, it is important to ask, whatconstitutes an ‘unengaged’ model? Arguably, the myth of neutralitythat permeated the early formation of social sciences continuesunchecked. Instead, the ownership of knowledge, and of perceivedsources of knowledge, bear close resemblance to patterns of colonization,and the assumed privilege of studying the inferior ‘other.’The disputed ownership of this knowledge and the formation ofAinu as subjects make past and present Ainu Studies a site of activistresistance.In Bones of Contention: Negotiating Anthropological Ethicswithin Fields of Ainu Refusal, anthropologist Ann-Elise Lewallendescribes the history of Ainu scholarship itself in relation to Ainuas subjects. 37 She addresses the interaction of activism and scholarship,including the logistical issues of conducting ethnographic researchrequiring written consent within a culture where oral communicationis dominant, and where written communication bearsovertones of exploitation and oppression. 38 She also observes thelegacies of Ainu mistrust produced within Ainu Studies, includingthe extraction of cadavers from Ainu burial sites, and the history of‘scientific’ testing on living Ainu subjects. Quite literally, the bodiesof Ainu were employed to uphold the scientific racism promoted inthe 19th century.Drawing on her experiences of being rejected by Ainu communitiesdue to her identity as an anthropologist, Lewallen con-37 Ibid.38 Ibid.81 Valerie Black Ainu Indigeneity 82