Michael Kent

The importance of being Uros: Indigenous identity politics in the genomic age

The objective of this article is to explore the interrelations between human population genomic research, the political strategies of indigenous movements and processes of identity formation. It will do so by analysing the collaboration between the Uros, an indigenous group living on artificial floating islands on Lake Titicaca (Peru), and researchers of the Genographic Project. Claiming descent from the ancient Urus, the islands’ inhabitants used their differentiated ethnic identity as a central resource in a territorial conflict with the Peruvian state. Their engagement with genetics was aimed at obtaining scientific support for their highly contested claims. In fact, the results of genomic research became a central element in the debate waged around the identity of the Uros. This article aims to contribute new insights into the incorporation of genetic research within the political debates waged over the identities of indigenous populations, as well as to the interaction of genetic knowledge with pre-existing discourses for defining ethnic identities. It also analyses the ways in which genetic research is turned into a political resource with the ability to generate significant social effects in the daily lives of studied populations.

Building the genomic nation: ‘Homo Brasilis’ and the ‘Genoma Mexicano’ in comparative cultural perspective

This article explores the relationship between genetic research, nationalism and the construction of collective social identities in Latin America. It makes a comparative analysis of two research projects – the ‘Genoma Mexicano’ and the ‘Homo Brasilis’ – both of which sought to establish national and genetic profiles. Both have reproduced and strengthened the idea of their respective nations of focus, incorporating biological elements into debates on social identities. Also, both have placed the unifying figure of the mestizo/mestiço at the heart of national identity constructions, and in so doing have displaced alternative identity categories, such as those based on race. However, having been developed in different national contexts, these projects have had distinct scientific and social trajectories: in Mexico, the genomic mestizo is mobilized mainly in relation to health, while in Brazil the key arena is that of race. We show the importance of the nation as a frame for mobilizing genetic data in public policy debates, and demonstrate how race comes in and out of focus in different Latin American national contexts of genomic research, while never completely disappearing.

Nation and the Absent Presence of Race in Latin American Genomics

Recent work on genomics and race makes the argument that concepts and categories of race are subtly reproduced in the practice of genomic science, despite the explicit rejection of race as meaningful biological reality by many geneticists. Our argument in this paper is that racialized meanings in genomics, rather than standing alone, are very often wrapped up in ideas about nation. This seems to us a rather neglected aspect in the literature about genomics and race. More specifically, we characterize race as an absent presence in Latin America and argue that genomics in the region finds a particular expression of race through concepts of nation, because this vehicle suits the deep-rooted ambiguity of race in the region. To make this argument we use data from an ethnographic project with genetics labs in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

Genetics against race: Science, politics and affirmative action in Brazil

This article analyses interrelations between genetic ancestry research, political conflict and social identity. It focuses on the debate on race-based affirmative action policies, which have been implemented in Brazil since the turn of the century. Genetic evidence of high levels of admixture in the Brazilian population has become a key element of arguments that question the validity of the category of race for the development of public policies. In response, members of Brazil’s black movement have dismissed the relevance of genetics by arguing, first, that in Brazil race functions as a social – rather than a biological – category, and, second, that racial classification and discrimination in this country are based on appearance, rather than on genotype. This article highlights the importance of power relations and political interests in shaping public engagements with genetic research and their social consequences.

Os charruas vivem nos Gaúchos: a vida social de uma pesquisa de "resgate" genético de uma etnia indígena extinta no Sul do Brasil

This paper aims to explore the articulation between genetic ancestry research and social constructions of ethnic identity in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It will do so by analysing the social life of a research project conducted at the UFRGS that established genetic continuity between the contemporary Gaucho population and the assumedly extinct indigenous Charrua. In the course of time, this idea of genetic continuity has taken on different incarnations, within varying contexts, and affirmed with differing levels of certainty. This paper will focus on the social and genetic conditions that have enabled the establishment of such continuity, as well as the affirmation of the genetic distinctiveness of the Gauchos. Finally, it will explore the social impacts of this research, in particular its articulation with constructions of a differentiated regional identity.

A importância de ser uro: Movimentos indígenas, políticas de identidade e pesquisa genética nos andes peruanos

The objective of this paper is to explore the interrelations between genetic research with human populations, the political strategies of indigenous movements and processes of identity formation. In particular, it will analyse the social conditions that have resulted in the collaboration between the Uros, an indigenous group living on the floating islands of Lake Titicaca (Peru), and researchers of the Genographic project. The Uros, whose claims to a differentiated ethnic identity were highly contested within the local context, engaged with geneticists with the aim to obtain scientific support for this identity. This was part of their political strategies for their territorial rights. As such, this case offers new insights into the incorporation of genetic research within the conceptual politics waged around ethnic identities, as well as the articulation of genetic knowledge with pre-existing registers to define such identities

Práticas territoriais indígenas entre a flexibilidade e a fixação

Abstract In their quest for the recognition of their customary territories, indigenous popu-lations of the Americas have increasingly made use of modern techniques for the precise definition of territories. This has resulted in tensions between their often highly flexible territorial practices and the more fixed modalities of territoriality produced through such techniques. The objective of this article is to explore such tensions and their social consequences by analysing the territorial practices of the Uros, an indigenous group living on floating islands in the reed beds of the Andean Lake Titicaca. It will analyse such practices both at the community level and in their conflictive relations with neighbouring lakeshore communi-ties and a protected area administered by the Peruvian state. The Uros’ internal territorial practices reveal high levels of physical mobility and social flexibility, resulting from their continuous merg-ing and scission of the artificial reed islands. However, their engagement with the state and its territorial practices has resulted in profound transformations to their arrangements with the lakeshore communities. In particular, it has re-sulted in a transformation of flexible, vaguely defined and shared territories into fixed, clearly defined and exclusive territories. Finally, I will analyse conflicts that emerged among the Uros when their leaders tried to apply mechanisms for territorial fixation in order to control the continuous merging and scission of floating islands.

Genes, boleadeiras e abismos colossais: elementos para um diálogo entre genética e antropologia

pela oportunidade de travar o presente dialogo. Como um dos principais objetivos de nosso texto e abordar assuntos e desenvolver re fl exoes que possam ser relevantes tanto para a comunidade genetica quanto para a antropologica, estamos particularmente satisfeitos com o reconhecimento ma-nifestado por Bortolini quanto a essa relevância. Sua replica levanta diversas questoes que buscaremos abordar nos paragrafos a seguir, ainda que de forma condensada, devido ao espaco disponivel.Um primeiro aspecto relaciona-se ao que interpretamos como um estrei-to alinhamento de Bortolini com um principio basico dos estudos de ciencia e tecnologia (