A View of Anthropology from the Canadian Semi-Periphery

Abstract

This paper compares Canadian, and in particular, British Columbian, and Brazilian anthropologies, and how they relate to the current political struggles of Indigenous peoples. I begin by arguing that, despite a semi-peripheral positioning of Canada in relation to the United States and other centers of academic theorizing and the training of faculty members, there is a distinctive history of the practice of anthropology in British Columbia based on a dialogical, grounded approach. Brazilian anthropologists and British Columbians have in common that they have long since moved past studies of acculturation, ethnicity, and interethnic friction into newer approaches, and I emphasize the factors influencing how these have emerged. Using examples from my own Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia and my own practice, I point to significant differences in the political position of Indigenes in the two countries, and in the national legal systems, and consequently, how anthropologists work with Indigenes and theorize their interactions. Anthropologists’ role as expert witnesses in Indigenous litigation is structured differently than in Brazil and in British Columbia enables a deep and long-term connection between anthropologists and Indigenous communities. I note that sociocultural anthropology in British Columbia, unlike Brazil, is linked with archaeology and biological anthropology in work with Indigenes, which shapes the interaction and research questions.