ANTH 206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Venn Diagram, Gurjar, Henri Rousseau
8 Jun 2018
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10/10/17
Noble Savages and Eco-Politics (Identity Stereotypes)
• These Ecologically Noble Savages are separate from Levi-Strauss's Noble Savage (that was about
mind structure, concepts, etc.)
• Ecologically Noble Savages
o Defined as indigenous people who live in harmony with nature
o Indigenous people due to who they are cannot harm environment
o Stereotype, not a real identity
o Descola- practices of ecologically knowledgeable people who limit hunting for sustainable
practices vs. other studies where this is not the case (Townsend)
o Fragile common grounds and misunderstandings with Westerners
▪ Image in slide: portrayed by media as chief crying because of a government dam that
would flood his lands, actually crying because he was reunited with a distant relative.
When interviewed later, said he was more likely to be angry about the dam than cry
about it.
▪ Chief still knew how to use his popularity, communicate with Western reporters.
Peoples can use fake or misleading representations of themselves to achieve goals,
this can backfire
• Empirical studies do not confirm that indigenous people exhibit environmentally friendly behavior
o Small communities usually do not impact environment because of less extreme technology,
small population spread over a large area, therefore cannot make an impact
o Management works according to parameters of their culture
o Don't consciously preserve environment
o Studies push against notion that indigenous people are by their nature environmentally
friendly, cannot impact land.
• History of ENS
o Scholars point to notion of "good savage" beginning with Rousseau describing what he
thought human nature was- believed that humans were good but society corrupted.
Created space for us to think that humans are born good.
o Trope began that people who lived differently, more "simply", paternalist approach, saw
them as more childlike
o Henri Rousseau the painter- style called "primitivism," people wanted to relate to nature
o Still a popular trope (Pocahontas, Avatar). Natives saving the world against colonialism,
invasion, etc. West likes the ENS as entertainment
▪ Indigenous people use this in their political struggles
▪ People identify with ENS
• Local people+ global organizations
o Eco-politics and indigeneity are defined by global scale alliances and strategies
▪ Simplify but communicate the dire situation of indigenous groups
▪ Just because the struggles occur about a fictitious image, people are still struggling
o States, corporations avoid debating identity (made by Greene, right to decide what goes on
in their territory is threatened by global and local alliances)
• ENS is a concept, can be used politically, ambiguous and ambivalent
• Claiming ENS as self mixes naïve views, strategic essentialism (actively and consciously used),
sympathy and fascination of world audience, symbolic capital for environmentalists
o Will use the concept when it benefits, avoid when it hurts them
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Noble savages and eco-politics (identity stereotypes: these ecologically noble savages are separate from levi-strauss"s noble savage (that was about mind structure, concepts, etc. , ecologically noble savages, defined as indigenous people who live in harmony with nature. Image in slide: portrayed by media as chief crying because of a government dam that would flood his lands, actually crying because he was reunited with a distant relative. When interviewed later, said he was more likely to be angry about the dam than cry about it: chief still knew how to use his popularity, communicate with western reporters. Natives saving the world against colonialism, invasion, etc. Indigenous people use this in their political struggles: people identify with ens. Local people+ global organizations: eco-politics and indigeneity are defined by global scale alliances and strategies. Simplify but communicate the dire situation of indigenous groups. Issue of scale, usually think as a hierarchy (individual to global).
