ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with a discussion of continuities and changes in the meaning of indigeneity, with a particular focus on the Latin American countries of Bolivia and Ecuador. It shows that how, from what, by whom, and for what reasons indigeneity was addressed differently at distinct moments in history and in distinct spaces, paying particular attention to relations between indigeneity and urbanisation. The chapter discusses how, why, when, and for what reasons indigenous peoples moved to the city, as well as how urbanisation arrived on their doorstep in rural territories. It illustrates how neo-liberal reforms accelerated processes of indigenous urbanisation without per se altering conditions of urban coloniality, leading to a further rise in indigenous resistance and decolonisation efforts. The colonial conquest led to the creation of indigeneity as a social category. Indigeneity is often represented as a static category and historical product of colonialism which operates according to schemes generated by colonialism throughout postcolonial history until the present.
