Pan-American indigenismo (1940-1970): New approaches to an ongoing debate

Abstract

This issue is dedicated to Pan-American indigenismo, a diverse political, economic, and cultural movement that celebrated indigenous people and their traditions, on the one hand, but usually also called for their modernization, assimilation, and "improvement", on the other. The roots of indigenismo can be traced to the nationalist movements that shaped much of Latin America in the early twentieth century. Indigenistas embraced it as an imperative stateand nation-building strategy, especially in 1930s Mexico, during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas. The indigenista movement assumed its Pan- American, institutional form in 1940, when delegates from 19 countries met in Pátzcuaro, Mexico, and created the Inter-American Indian Institute