Explores the multiple identities of a community of people in the Bolivian highlands through their own lived experiences and their own voices

Drawing on extended ethnographic research conducted over the course of more than two decades, Andrew Canessa explores the multiple identities of a community of people in the Bolivian highlands through their own lived experiences and voices. He examines how gender, race, and ethnic identities manifest themselves in everyday interactions in the Aymara village. Canessa shows that indigeneity is highly contingent; thoroughly imbricated with gendered, racial, and linguistic identities; and informed by a historical consciousness. Addressing how whiteness and indianness are reproduced as hegemonic structures in the village, how masculinities develop as men go to the mines and army, and how memories of a violent past are used to construct a present sense of community, Canessa raises important questions about indigenous politics and the very nature of indigenous identity.

"[Canessa] “This book is a masterful synthesis of 20 years’ ethnographic fieldwork in one Bolivian community, the Aymara-speaking Andean settlement of Wila Kjarka….this book is a delight to read, both in terms of the author’s clear and engaging style, which frequently blends humour and pathos, and in the non-judgemental approach which testifies to an eagerness to understand others on their own terms. … [it] is a profoundly honest, subtle and wide- ranging study that is sure to inspire scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds.”" - AlterNative

"“Overall, Canessa is an astute observer of Bolivian rural life, and he possesses an engaging sense of humor: the book often makes one think and laugh at the same time.”" - Hispanic American Historical Review

"“Canessa’s excellent book…. Provides a wide-ranging yet rooted ethnographic analysis of contemporary forms of belonging in Bolivia, which is the book’s great strength….This book would be a wonderful addition to many courses… It is readable, compelling, and moving.”" - Journal of Anthropological Research

"“[P]oignant and deeply insightful…. Intimate Indigeneities is at the top of my reading list for my graduate and undergraduate classes, not only for courses on matters Andean or Latin American, but also for lower level introductory courses to anthropology and upper level theory courses.”" - Anthropological Quarterly

"“Andrew Canessa has written a longed-for book that consolidates his position as one of the most engaging contemporary scholars of Andean  anthropology. . . . Intimate Indigeneities is a major contribution to our understanding of indigeneity, race and sex in contemporary Bolivia and, I would argue, the most important and engaging anthropological work on Andean Bolivia written in recent years.”" - Journal of Latin American Studies

"“Valuable for any study of modernity, indigeneity, or interpersonal relations as it provides a poignant look at a community in the midst of a convoluted, contradictory, continuous march to modernity."" - NACLA Report on the Americas

"“This wonderful book is highly recommended for all those who are interested in indigeneity, racism, gender, and nation-building.”" - American Anthropologist

"In this finely detailed ethnography, anthropologist Andrew Canessa explores the meaning of indigeneity for the people of Wila Kjarka, an Aymara-speaking community located in the northern Andean highlands of Bolivia….[T]he rich, and at times poignant, ethnographic detail and the complex and nuanced argumentation speak to the anthropologist’s longstanding commitment to this community and to these important issues." - Anthro Forum