Our ancestral rights are not yours to grant: Indigenous autonomy beyond multiculturalism in Eastern Nicaragua

Abstract

This article examines the Miskitu concept of Blasi pyua wina wan raitka nani ba (Our ancestral rights) as a foundational framework for Indigenous autonomy, positioning it as a direct challenge to state-imposed multiculturalism in Eastern Nicaragua. Rooted in communal land ownership and stewardship, reciprocity networks, and self-determined governance systems, this framework contrasts with the neoliberal legal structures that have historically undermined Indigenous sovereignty. By tracing the trajectory of Indigenous resistance movements in Eastern Nicaragua, from mid-twentieth-century grassroots mobilization to contemporary struggles for land rights, this study argues that Indigenous resistance is both a spatial and epistemological challenge to state territorialization. Using a combination of ethnographic fieldwork and oral histories, this study critiques Nicaragua's multicultural legal framework, particularly Laws 28 and 445, for perpetuating neoliberal governance rather than ensuring genuine Indigenous autonomy. Findings reveal that while these laws ostensibly recognize Indigenous land rights, they have failed to prevent land dispossession, settler encroachment, and resource extraction, exacerbating socio-economic marginalization. Furthermore, the study highlights how Indigenous autonomy has been co-opted by political structures that constrain community-led governance. In response, Blasi pyua wina wan raitka nani ba emerges as an alternative political framework that reclaims land and governance beyond state-imposed legal mechanisms. This work contributes to scholarship on Indigenous and legal geographies by demonstrating how land struggles intersect with broader racial and economic dynamics. Ultimately, it advocates for Indigenous movements to reclaim territorial autonomy on their own terms, reinforcing Indigenous relational geographies and self-determination.