Indigenous "Messengers" Petitioning for Justice: Citizenship and Indigenous Rights in Peru, 1900-1945.

Abstract

In the early twentieth century in Peru, there was an explosion of formal petitions to the state, many of which were brought personally by indigenous “messengers.” The messengers traveled by foot from their distant communities to the capital city of Lima to denounce abuses occurring in their home communities, such as forced labor, land usurpation, torture, murder, and sexual assault. While in Lima, the messengers interacted with indigenista activists (generally white or mestizo pro-indigenous intellectuals, feminists, artists, and journalists) to pressure government officials to respond to specific complaints. As a result of these interactions, a fervent national debate emerged among politicians, intellectuals, and artists on the place of indigenous people in the nation. Furthermore, the activism of the indigenous messengers and their advocates resulted in the passage of some pro-indigenous legislation and the development of a new national aesthetic emphasizing indigeneity. Many landowners and members of the traditional elite, however, rejected these challenges to the status quo, which created a battleground in the early twentieth century where Peruvians of all sectors fought over the meaning of citizenship, nationhood, and national identity. This dissertation demonstrates that issues of gender and family were a prevalent subtext in the fervent political and cultural debate on the integration of indigenous people into the nation during this period. Specifically, some male indigenous messengers framed their claims for justice, protection, and equal rights by highlighting their familial responsibilities as fathers, husbands, and leaders of their community. Furthermore, it shows how specific forms of state paternalism at times conflicted with indigenous claims for equality and at other times worked to empower indigenous people to make greater demands on the state.