ABSTRACT
In the next two chapters the politics of becoming indigenous is explored in relation to major extractive operations – Vale Inco Ltd’s nickel mining in Soroako and London Sumatra Ltd’s rubber plantation estates in Bulukumba. For the diverse groups acting in the name of adat, their struggles are located in the evolving context of decentralization and local constellations of power. Indigeneity as a selective and deliberate concept deployed in the field derives its meaning (legitimate, symbolic, substantive or otherwise) in opposition to mining and rubber companies. Internal disputes are equally salient, occurring within communities, between communities, government and companies, and among all stakeholders (both normative and derivative). The basis for remedial rights begins with legitimate grievance and ends with legal entitlement, and local politics in all its manifestations both enables and disrupts this process.
