Nicolás Buckley

This book is the first historical study to center indigenous women's perspectives on modernization and highlight their pivotal role in grassroots movements to preserve indigenous ways of life. Working against traditional views of indigenous people as victims of colonization, the personal narratives of twelve indigenous women illuminate their pivotal role in grassroots movements against recent processes of modernization in Ecuador. The author used oral history methodologies and archival research to examine the how women have contributed to Ecuador's rich history of grassroots protest by indigenous groups throughout history. Analyzing these women's stories through the lenses of gender, language, race, and post-colonial history reveals how these women are actively forging powerful indigenous identities in the twenty-first century in the face of modernization.

Urban Guerrilla vs Citizens Revolution: The Ecuadorian Dilemma at the Turn of the Century examines how trauma and modernity affected the daily lives of Ecuadorian guerrilla activists. Utilizing oral histories and archival study, this book describes the lives of activists in the Ecuadorian guerrilla group ¡Alfaro Vive, Carajo!. Dr. Nicolas Buckley demonstrates not only how these AVC activist’s life stories reveal their traumas, but also how their traumas are proof that modern Ecuador is still anchored in its colonial past. Further, Dr. Buckley explores two identities that emerged in Latin America, the “mestizo” versus the “indigenous.”

"In this engaging and original book, Nicol s Buckley draws on a unique body of oral history interviews with former armed activists in order to tell stories of ETA from inside. Locating these stories in the rapidly changing historical landscape of Spain during the late Franco and transition periods, the book challenges straightforward interpretations of the Basque independence movement as, alternatively, a 'terrorist' organization or victims of Spanish nationalism. Buckley combines historical analysis with refl ections on his own personal experiences as a young Spanish student growing up in Madrid in the post-Franco era, arguing for the importance of generation in presenting alternative accounts of ETA from the Spanish perspective, and presenting an intriguing account of the role of ETA and Basque nationalism in shaping contemporary Spanish and national identity and social imaginary. Weaving together history, memory, and self refl ection, this book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on ETA, Basque nationalism, and contemporary Spanish history." Carrie Hamilton, Oral Historian