Defining Indigeneity in the Twenty-First Century: A Case Study of the Free Frisians - Hardcover

Onsman, Andrys

9780773465053: Defining Indigeneity in the Twenty-First Century: A Case Study of the Free Frisians

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773465057 ISBN 13: 9780773465053

Publisher: Edwin Mellen Pr, 2004

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Onsman (Australian indigenous studies, Monash U., Melbourne) was born in Frisl�n, one of the Netherlands, and takes his native people as a case study to investigate the nature of indigeneity as the notion and implications of it become important in international affairs. He weaves his study around seven interviews--one in English, five in Dutch, and one in Frisian. His topics include indigenous identity as a political construct, the archaeology of identity, the recognized identity, the assumed identity, the politics of freedom, and identity in language. He concludes that Frisians can be considered indigenous as along as indigeneity is not imbued with qualities derived from tribalism or primitivism, is not posited as an opposite to modernity, and does not seek to define people through otherness. The interviews themselves are appended. The text is double spaced. Annotation �2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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About the Author

Andrys Onsman was born in Fryslan but has lived for lengthy periods in Australia where he is a research associate in the Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He has published extensively in the area of international Indigenous identity. His other research is in cognition and metaphorical language.

Review

"Andrys Onsman's Frisian case study of indigeneity is a significant international contribution to this 'discourse of positioning'. This work illustrates, by direct voice, how it is possible to 'think Frisian', to express multiplicity of 'Frisian links' and to nurture 'Frisian knowledge' as intimate expressions of an identity that is neither fixed by its historical iteration, not defined by its resistance to 'master identities'. - Greg Lehman, Indigenous Research Associate, Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education, University of Tasmania; "Andrys Onsman's contribution to the growing body of scholarship about contemporary Indigenous identity is sure to have a significant impact, both locally and internationally......it tackles the question of what is really meant by the term "Indigenous", and seeks to answer the question of who is included under that heading and who isn't. This is one of the most fundamental questions in Cultural Studies, and one seldom tackled for fear of landing in "politically incorrect" waters. Dr. Onsman addresses the issues in a sensitive but nonetheless direct manner. His research is extensive; his arguments are solid and his conclusions are confrontational - exactly what ought to be expected from rigorous scholarship. The second aspect of this book that is worth comment is the critical with which he discusses his own people, the Frisians. This book stands up well alongside the current works on the Bretons, the Basques, the Welsh and the Saami. There is no doubt that the notion of there being no Indigenous peoples left in Europe has been disproved, and the current work exemplifies that. The Frisians may well serve as an example of his argument, but the reader is also let with a sympathetic and colorful portrait of one of Europe's oldest peoples. I have no hesitation in recommending this book...." - Lyell Wilson, Director of Studies, Center for Australian Indigenous Studies, Monash University; "Andrys Onsman opens this insightful discussion on international Indigenous identity with an examination of the current indigenous identity literature and policy discussions internationally and domestically. The common threads are through ancestry, through occupations of ancestral domains and through the continuity of recognizable cultural distinction. These are the criteria that the lawyers, politicians and economists demand of indigenes and subsequently of indigeneity. He brings his discussion home with a personal yet widely significant discussion of the indigenous identity of the Frisian people who have for time immemorial resided in Northwestern Europe.....This book is bound to create discussion and perhaps even argument. There needs to be no apology for that. At the end of the "Decade for Indigenous Peoples" we ought to be a lot clearer than we actually are about who it is that we are celebrating. This book will, at the very least, frame the questions that need to be asked." - Dr. Nigel Parbury, President, Aboriginal Studies Association, Australia"

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