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A “Demographic Turnaround”: The Rapid Growth of Indigenous Populations in Lowland Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Kendra McSweeney  and
Shahna Arps
Kendra McSweeney
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University
Shahna Arps
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University
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Abstract

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In contrast to the rich scholarship documenting the traumatic post-contact destruction of indigenous populations in the Latin American tropics, little is known about their contemporary population dynamics. What accounts for the “demographic turnaround” reported for some groups? How widespread is population recovery, and what are its implications for indigenous political resurgence? We address these questions by compiling recent (post-1980) demographic indicators for over one hundred lowland indigenous populations. Despite remarkable socioeconomic and cultural diversity among these groups, we find compelling evidence that they nevertheless share a common trajectory of very rapid growth over the past two decades, especially in contrast to non-indigenous populations. We briefly review the implications of their dramatic physical resurgence and show how closer attention to this phenomenon is overdue. We discuss the relevance of indigenous societies' recovery to scholarship and praxis in the areas of health and education, cultural and political gains, and demographic theory.

Resumen

Resumen

A diferencia de la vasta literatura académica que documenta la traumática destrucción pos-contacto de las poblaciones indígenas de los trópicos latinoamericanos, muy poco se conoce sobre sus actuales dinámicas demográficas. ¿Cómo se explica el cambio demográfico reportado por algunos de estos grupos?, ¿qué tan extensa es la recuperación de la población y cuáles son sus implicancias para el resurgimiento de la política indígena? Abordamos estas preguntas a través de la compilación de recientes indicadores demográficos (pos-1980) de más de 100 poblaciones indígenas de tierras bajas. A pesar de la gran diversidad cultural y socioeconómica que existe entre los grupos, encontramos evidencia sustancial de que éstos comparten una trayectoria común de rápido crecimiento en las dos últimas décadas, especialmente en comparación a poblaciones no indígenas. Describimos brevemente las implicaciones de su dramático resurgimiento físico y señalamos la necesidad de dedicar más atención a este fenómeno. En particular, discutimos la relevancia que la recuperación de las sociedades indígenas tiene para la investigación académica y para la práctica en áreas de salud, educación, cultura política, así como también para el desarrollo de la teoría demográfica.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , 2005 , pp. 3 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

∗

David Dodds, Teresa Hutchinson, and Oliver Coomes contributed greatly to this work through discussion, research assistance, and advice. We gratefully acknowledge research support to McSweeney from a Faculty Seed Grant, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, The Ohio State University.

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