Original Peoples Count: Persistence and Strengthening of Indigenous Communities, Identities, and Nations in Latin America

This review examines the persistence and strengthening of Indigenous communities, identities, and nations in Latin America over the past two decades. Indigenous peoples in the region have transitioned from social movements to wielding actual political power, reshaping national politics, governance structures, and development paradigms. We analyze the evolution of scholarly literature beyond earlier biases in country selection and insufficient attention to racial and gender dimensions, highlighting communitarian feminist perspectives that link body, territory, and collective governance. The review addresses fundamental questions of Indigenous identity formation, linguistic revitalization, and the endogeneity of census categorizations. We examine territorial defense against extractivism, digital colonialism, and threats to data sovereignty, while also exploring traditional governance institutions, legal pluralism, and autonomy claims. Indigenous perspectives challenge conventional political science approaches through holistic worldviews that integrate spiritual, social, and environmental dimensions. Critical emerging issues include historical trauma's impact on political behavior, Indigenous health inequalities (particularly in mental health), and urban Indigenous youth participation. We argue that political science can gain much from recognizing Indigenous epistemologies, learning from Indigenous peoples’ experiences in their transformative processes for reimagining governance, collective action, and political engagement.