Leiden University Student Repository

Hoeve, Suzan ten (2023)

Indigenous politics online: the impact of social media for Indigenous movements

Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)

This thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital technology has been utilized by Indigenous people to connect, share and learn but also to advocate. Historically indigenous people have been demanding recognition and indigenous rights, and in the current digital age, this fight has partly moved to the digital sphere, on social media. Here, Indigenous people are less dependent on mainstream media and their prejudices and can spread their perspectives on their struggles and what it means to be Indigenous. I look at the political effects of this new form of activism by analyzing three different case studies. Two of the cases are located in Canada, Idle No More and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), and the third is situated in America the NoDAPL movement. These cases show that the use of social media can shift power...Show moreThis thesis explores how digital representations of Indigenous movements influence the political outcomes of these movements in settler colonies. Since the beginning of its development, digital technology has been utilized by Indigenous people to connect, share and learn but also to advocate. Historically indigenous people have been demanding recognition and indigenous rights, and in the current digital age, this fight has partly moved to the digital sphere, on social media. Here, Indigenous people are less dependent on mainstream media and their prejudices and can spread their perspectives on their struggles and what it means to be Indigenous. I look at the political effects of this new form of activism by analyzing three different case studies. Two of the cases are located in Canada, Idle No More and MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls), and the third is situated in America the NoDAPL movement. These cases show that the use of social media can shift power relations between governments and Indigenous movements and that Indigenous people have more control over how they are portrayed. Though, this thesis also shows the weaknesses of using social media as a activism strategy.Show less

Indigenous movements

politics

social movements

social media activism

colonialism

indigeneity

power

settler states

Author

Hoeve, Suzan ten

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Supervisors

Saptari, R.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en