It is said that ethics and values define the nature and character of an identity, but for a living ethics to be further developed and relevant, the identity has to be free from subjugation and exploitation. And so, when a people’s freedom is stolen and their civilization is suppressed, so too is their ethical worldview. The struggle for freedom is further compounded by the imposition of alien power structures, which is at the source of fragmentation. The practice of dividing indigenous peoples opposes the very basic tenets of all indigenous ethical philosophies.
In essence it dilutes the very ethical framework of the people. As a result indigenous peoples became weak and vulnerable with a reduced capacity to determine changes to meet their present needs. The people’s power and capacity to adjust with the growing modern developments around the world based their own terms and conditions have been negated, even to the extent of thinking that indigenous societies are ‘uncivilized’ without any ethical framework. In effect their minds are colonized and their worldviews dogmatic.
So in the struggle for immediate survival they have disregarded their respect for principles and values, thereby increasing their vulnerability to accept external influences without any critical thought and assessment. This has invariably created an environment and relationship of dependency. It is ironic that the once self-reliant indigenous communities are now dependent on the State for their basic survival. This is the state of affairs for most indigenous communities. Alfred Taiaiake described it as: “It is … the forced dependence on a central government for provision of sustenance that lie at the root of injustice in the indigenous mind.” He further recognized that “The evil of modern states is their power to decide who eats.”
The question of dependency is very closely related to the question of identity. For when a peoples become dependent on others for their mere existence then they stop being who they truly are. The growth and development of their values and principles are stunned. The people henceforth stop being in control of themselves and their future. This adversely affects how they interact with the elements of life and their value systems. In such societies and under such condition one can see the emergence of socio-economic classes that is very status consciousness and segregated, thus violating the ethical framework of a society which strives for equality and dignity.
Such a forced environment leads to creation of a new set of political identities based on political power and how territorial space is organized. Mahmood Mamdani states that “Political identities are the consequence of how power is organized. The organization of power not only defines the parameters of the political community, telling us who is included and who is left out, it also differentiates the bounded political community internally.” This causes fragmentation of indigenous identities, both as a mechanism to co-opt and assimilate them into the dominant society; but more importantly to weaken and divide the indigenous political aspirations.
For indigenous peoples to be whole again, it must have courage to evolve their own set of ethics which empowers them to develop their own thinking, thought processes and knowledge systems. It is in their capacity and capability to be creators of their own value based praxis that they become confident in their competence and their vision to become a life giving society that is convinced and persuaded to determine the course of its own future. In the end, a peoples identity would be meaningless unless it is founded on ethics that values and respects all of human life and human worth.
