Customer Reviews

Resistance and Contradiction: Miskitu Indians and the Nicaraguan State, 1894-1987

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Charles Hale gives a plea for activist anthropology; not letting the anthropologist remain aloof from the people that he or she is studying. He does that to some extent in his work with the Miskitu. However his avowed affinity with the Sandinista cause causes him to miss much in the process. He ignores some of the more glaring Sandinista atrocities that would paint the Sandinistas in a less pleasant light than Hale presents. In placing himself as a sort of go-between between the Miskitu and the Sandinistas, he contradicts the very premise he is espousing. He doesn't want to alienate himself from either group, so he never really becomes totally trusted by either. He wants to have his cake and eat it too.
This is a good look at the 1980s Nicaraguan situation, activism issues aside. Hale delves into the movements and motivations of Sandinista policy and Miskitu resistance. This reads more like a book written by a journalist however. The personal engagement of an anthropologist presenting a people and exploring their life is missing, making the book read like a reporter getting a scoop rather than an anthropologist doing participant observation. I think the book would have been much better if Hale just took the chance of choosing a side and not worrying so much about trying to appear neutral.