Indigenous Peoples and Borders, edited by Sheryl Lightfoot and Elsa Stamatopoulou and published by Duke University Press in 2023, is a good start for anyone wanting to explore the area of “borderology” (p. 3) and its relation to international relations and indigenous politics. The editors urge the readers to think of border studies in a new light and through new lenses. Each chapter is unique in its methodology and questions the existing perspectives on border studies and international law and their impact on indigenous communities across the globe.

Stamatopoulou has previously written extensively on the rights of the indigenous people. In this book, she, along with all the contributors, continues to provide an analytical interplay between international relations, indigenous politics, human rights, and border studies for the readers. The book is an interesting step towards an interdisciplinary approach to border studies. Such an intervention is more significant in the present-day context because of the nature of the problems faced by humankind, which refuses to abide by boundaries set by the modern political system. Moreover, the neoliberal state of the world, makes such dialogues and discussions around questions of human rights and indigenous studies imperative.

The book is divided into four parts – each discussing different kinds of relations between indigenous inhabitation and the borders. The fluid nature of these problems which do not follow the bindings of any state or national boundaries reflect the nature of the deep-rooted problems faced by the indigenous community. This is better explained as the editors criticise the existing border theory as state-centric and static, which overlooks questions of power and marginalization.

The first part discusses the notion of sovereignty and power among the indigenous people in the context of international borders. All four chapters in the unit question the idea of the border and what it constitutes according to the indigenous people. A wide range of methodologies like ethnoarchaeology, ethnolinguistics, and indigenous data sovereignty makes the chapters diverse. Power relations are understood over and beyond the state-bound territories – in a broader context in the manner indigenous people deal with it. This unit sets off the debates in the book by questioning what constitutes border and boundary according to the people and how it is in contrast or alignment with the state.

The second unit carries the conversation forward, by providing a critique of the colonial borders and the troubles indigenous need to face due to these borders. The real-life problems faced by the people do not necessarily abide by the rules and boundaries set by the power holders. These problems – ranging from substance abuse to COVID-19, militarization to climate change – pose an obstruction to the indigenous peoples’ rights and the four chapters in the unit discuss them in detail. The diversity of the regions in each chapter adds to the depth of significance of the studies. This part of the book deals with the most contemporary issues.

While the previous unit was challenging the confinements of the border, the third unit discusses the possible issues with the globalization of borders. Given the present state of the globalized world we live in, most of these challenges are “borderless” (p. 227.). This unit is again empirically based – which revolves around integration issues in the face of globalization and cross-border living.

The final unit provides a way forward or a way of moving out of the numerous challenges which indigenous communities face. The final four chapters of the unit are the most promising ones as they explore the various possibilities which the indigenous community adopts on their own to overcome their challenges in terms of international relations and border relations. Susskind’s chapter explores MADRE as an initiative for solidarity and stronger advocacy among women and children. The second and third chapter explains indigenous techniques to cope with exploitation of the formal and institutional kind. The final chapter of the book is by the editor Sheryl Lightfoot herself – where she discusses the way Haudenosaunee reject both US and Canadian passports as a form of resistance. Such instances of resistance and agency provide us with a positive image of the way indigenous people can have their rights and status back. It gives a sense of agency and power to the indigenous – who refuse to follow the colonial rules of borders.

The overall objective of the book has been to understand the relations and conditions of the indigenous people in the face of issues pertaining to border relations. It is an innovative initiative to step into the new area of border studies. The objective of presenting novel ways of looking at borders is however well achieved – with each chapter providing some form of unique outlook on the way indigenous people face international relations. As a reader, it was refreshing to find the first-hand lived experiences of the indigenous people taken into account in the analysis. The book does a good job of considering the voices and opinions of the indigenous globally.

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Tania Sen is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, IILM University, Gurgaon.