Leveraging Hybridity: Alfonso Ortiz as Native American, Activist, and Anthropologist

Two major efforts by Indigenous scholars include advocating for Indigenous sovereignty and theorizing relation-building with non-Indigenous people. As attempts are made to indigenize the academy, can inspiration be drawn from past Indigenous scholars who were ahead of their time in a dual commitment to both goals? This paper focuses on Alfonso Ortiz, a former Native American scholar, activist, and anthropologist. Exploring his archival collection, held at Princeton University, lends insight into his hybrid positionality in higher education. Seeking to unravel the way Ortiz mediates between institutions, epistemologies, and people, a thematic analysis of archival materials unravels three forms of hybridity: Native-educational, institutional-activist, and anthropologist-activist. Ortiz’s case shows that hybridity is not a roadblock to Native American priorities; on the contrary, hybridity provides tools for agentive action carried out on behalf of Native American communities. More importantly, the implications of each form of hybridity raise new questions for non-Indigenous institutions and individuals, which may need to rethink their purposes as they are called into relation with Indigenous students, faculty, and communities.