Indigenism, Pan-Indigenism and Cosmovisionism

"The study of the social and political thought of the indigenous peoples of the Americas in the 21st century is witnessing a renaissance. The 58th Annual Meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM) will explore the variety of ways of thinking, imagining and acting within these communities, including concepts and insights on nature, art, ecology, time, space, ethics, ethnicity and the cosmos/universe. We are interested in exploring the array of verbal, visual, discursive and dialogical narratives, as well as their collective agency at the local, communal, transcommunal and global levels. Learning about indigenous cultures will enhance our duties as librarians. The exploration of these ideas, concepts and insights will help us in developing the depth and breadth of our collections. It will also guide us in designing the logistics of collecting, documenting and preserving primary as well as secondary sources of information, data and knowledge related to indigenous peoples.

Throughout the Americas, indigenous movements, activists and intellectuals have, over the centuries, used sophisticated strategies and tactics in the production, distribution and application of knowledge to address problems at various levels of their experiences. These levels and units of analysis range from the local to the regional and transregional spheres of activity. Indigenous thought in the Americas will be examined at the micro, meso and macro levels. At the micro-level, indigenism concerns the issues and problems of historiography, ideology, epistemology and, at the communal level, hyphenation (dual ethnic identity such as native-American). At the meso-level, pan-indigenism relates to the comparative ideological, historiographical and epistemological issues and problems of indigenism transcommunally. Cosmovisionism deals with the interpretation of nature and life itself vis-à-vis shared topics of concern such as religion, politics, ethics, and moral principles. SALALM 58 will serve as a forum to examine, debate and share views about the nature, value and relevance of indigenous thought and action in the postmodern world."--