The Political Economy of Tribalism in North America: Neotribal Capitalism?

Abstract

The article examines Elizabeth Rata’s model of ‘neotribal capitalism’ in the light of ethnographic and historical evidence from Native North America. In her analysis of Maori tribalism, Rata argues for a view of modern tribes as organizations of capitalist accumulation that are legitimized through a ‘neotraditionalist’ ideology that recreate present-day class relations in precolonial terms. Despite some differences in the historical development of tribes, this model proves useful for the analysis of the political economy of US American Indian identity. Since the late 19th century, tribes have been dominated by new economic and bureaucratic elites that control access to tribal revenues. The discourse on ‘tradition’ and ‘cultural preservation’ has become the latest currency of representing tribal social relations to the American state and legitimizing the political status quo before the local population. It is argued that a political-economic approach is particularly well suited for explaining the political processes and economic inequalities in postcolonial indigenous societies.