Politics on the Boundaries: The Post-Colonial Politics of Indigenous People

Abstract

Politics on the boundaries as a practice and third space of sovereignty as a pursuit frame a logic of indigenous politics developed through post-colonial analysis- The post-colonial premises of this logic are defined and applied in this article through an examination of indigenous political claims and activities from different historical moments. These forms of indigenous politics articulate diverse and yet similarly woven strands of the logic of politics on the boundaries. Implicated in any logic of indigenous politics in the U.S. context is the effort to affect a more politically resonant understanding of how American political identity has been constructed through a symbolic and material relationship to indigenous people. As such, this logic can and is turned around to shed light on the tensions inherent to American politics. Finally, the article closes by demonstrating how politics on the boundaries clarifies the terms of the pro-casino arguments of California-based tribes during the Proposition 5 campaign in 1998.