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Ecologists by default? How the indigenous movement in Ecuador became protector of nature

Abstract:

Since several decades, indigenous peoples are seen as stewards of nature. This is not only an attribution by Western/Northern academics but rather the result of conscious political choices undertaken by organizations related to those peoples. From a certain moment on, some indigenous organizations integrated nature-related contents into their functioning and demands. In the Ecuadorian case, it is easily traceable when ecology entered the discourse of the indigenous movement and how it developed. Ecology and its connection to well-known concepts such as Buen Vivir/Sumak Kawsay is a main reasons for the success of the movement. This article will analyse the ecologization of the movement and its discourse as a particularly effective way of self-inclusion of the excluded and the subsequent institutionalization both on the level of organizations and the level of discourse. This will make possible to understand the moment of main impact of ecological contents–for instance in the 1990s–and demands and the moments of systematic depoliticization of those demands–especially, since 2008.