Third space, abstract space and coloniality

Abstract

Indigenous peoples in Ecuador have seized map-making as a critical tool in their struggles for postcolonial justice. The topic addressed by this chapter is the politics of producing maps, a process and a symbolic and meaningful practice that speaks to postcolonial power differentials in South America. Specifically, the chapter examines how the production of maps of nation-state territory occurs when indigenous organizations (representing diverse cultural-linguistic groups claiming descent from pre-Colombian populations) engage in a politics of struggle against dominant, European-oriented norms of statehood, identity and knowledge.1 Although established geographical and cartographic institutions often dismiss these maps — and the practices that give rise to them — they can be viewed as evidence of struggles by indigenous subalterns for voice and recognition. In this context, how do indigenous national maps articulate and further these struggles? What means do indigenous organizations have at their disposal to challenge the exclusions of postcolonial nationhood? And in what ways can alternate forms of belonging and purpose be expressed cartographically?