ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that a diversity of Indigenous literatures and ontological knowledges have appeared in Latin America since the 1980s. The chapter analyzes the phenomenon of emerging Indigenous authors writing texts in their own languages and publishing them as bilingual editions with a Spanish translation. The Indigenous understanding of their world and ours is visible in this new literary corpus, offering a unique perspective on the configuration of Indigenous ontologies and epistemological positionalities. This literature interrogates the manifestations of racism and subalternization as well, displaying a decolonial effort. The chapter incorporates a theoretical reflection on the meaning of emerging grassroots Indigenous intellectuals in the Americas. After all, Indigenous writers are often political actors, working with grassroots movements or writing to advance specific goals for their communities. From these texts we can surmise that most Indigenous authors argue for the simultaneous coexistence of modern and Indigenous conceptions of the world, implying that modern thought is not an indispensable condition for entering the public sphere. These works also constitute projects juxtaposing Western secular and Indigenous cosmological traits. Their views enrich and complicate Western decolonial theorists' assumptions.
