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Global identity politics rest heavily on notions of ethnicity and authenticity, especially in contexts where indigenous identity becomes a basis for claims of social and economic justice. In contemporary Latin America there is a resurgence of indigenous claims for cultural and political autonomy and for the benefits of economic development. Yet these identities have often been taken for granted. In this historical ethnography, Baron Pineda traces the history of the port town of Bilwi, now known officially as Puerto Cabezas, on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua to explore the development, transformation, and function of racial categories in this region. From the English colonial period, through the Sandinista conflict of the 1980's, to the aftermath of the Contra War, Pineda shows how powerful outsiders, as well as Nicaraguans, have made efforts to influence notions about African and Black identity among the Miskito Indians, Afro-Nicaraguan Creoles, and Mestizos in the region. In the process, he provides insight into the causes and meaning of social movements and political turmoil. Shipwrecked Identities also includes important critical analysis of the role of anthropologists and other North American scholars in the Contra-Sandinista conflict, as well as the ways these scholars have defined ethnic identities in Latin America. As the indigenous people of the Mosquito Coast continue to negotiate the effects of a long history of contested ethnic and racial identity, this book takes an important step in questioning the origins, legitimacy, and consequences of such claims.

Indians of Central America -- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) -- Social conditions. --- Indians of Central America -- Nicaragua -- Ethnic identity. --- Indians of Central America -- Urban residence -- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras). --- Indigenous peoples -- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) -- Ethnic identity. --- Indigenous peoples -- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) -- Social conditions. --- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) -- Race relations. --- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) -- Social conditions. --- Regions & Countries - Americas --- History & Archaeology --- Latin America --- Indians of Central America --- Indigenous peoples --- Ethnic identity. --- Urban residence --- Social conditions. --- Mosquitia (Nicaragua and Honduras) --- Race relations. --- Aboriginal peoples --- Aborigines --- Indigenous populations --- Native peoples --- Native races --- Meso-America --- Meso-American Indians --- Mesoamerica --- Mesoamerican Indians --- Pre-Columbian Indians --- Precolumbian Indians --- Ethnology --- Costa de Mosquitos (Nicaragua and Honduras) --- Miskito Coast (Nicaragua and Honduras) --- Mosquito Coast (Nicaragua and Honduras) --- Adivasis --- Urban Indians --- Indians --- City dwellers