INDIGENOUS IDENTITY IN A PLURI-CULTURE
INDIGENOUS IDENTITY IN A PLURI-CULTURE Fr Paul Lelen Haokip Introduction The word ‘indigenous’ could be a fashionable term for some, while others loathe it. This word serves as a cohesive glue for some communities while connoting the exclusivist sense at times. There is a partition between the ‘certain’ and the ‘sceptic’ mind. The ‘certain’ may be so sure of scanty parameters of truth, while the ‘sceptic’ may align to post-modernist thought of subjective reality. Is the word ‘indigenous’ an elusive terminology or a bond of contention for insiders, giving external forces to harvest in muddy waters? Its first known use of the word ‘indigenous’ was in 1640s, then applied to plants and cultures in the New World (Peters & Mika, 2017) . In any case, no one can domesticate the word ‘indigenous’ according to their whims and fancies. We have to be locally conscious but live with a global mindset in a multi-cultural ...