Data from national household surveys in Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and Guatemala indicate that the overwhelming majority of indigenous peoples are extremely poor. Much of ethnic differences in poverty can be accounted for by differences in educational attainment, employment status, and occupation. The relationship between school attendance and child…

Contrasts the expropriation and misrepresentation of Indian beliefs by "New Age" gurus with the respectful application of indigenous values to environmental ethics. Discusses indigenous models of ecosystemic adaptation in North and South America, the convergence of conservation efforts and Indian land rights, and issues in Native…

Examines the place of Indian people in Mexican society and politics, from the conquest to the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas (fueled by the threat to rural indigenous communal lands posed by economic reforms). Although Indianness is celebrated as contributing to the idealized mestizo "race," self-identification as Indian threatens…