The Postcolonial Period

Abstract

Pearcey examines the emergence of ‘new’ standards of civilization in perpetuating the exclusion of indigenous peoples through the United Nations’ discourse on decolonization. With a focus on the principle of self-determination, however, Pearcey emphasizes the role of indigenous transnationalism in contesting the legacies of civilization in the late twentieth century. Cautious not to overplay the implications of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, he shows how that agreement evidences an effort on the part of indigenous peoples to redefine their relations with international society.