Authenticity as Indigenous Modernity in Namibian Ecotourism

Indigenous peoples, such as the Namibian Haiǀǀom and!Xung, are often seen as “traditional conservationists” based on their Indigenous ecological knowledge. This representation also creates the impression that they are still in need of development. This creates two contradictions. First, through ecotourism, “authentic” Indigenous peoples adapt to an “inauthentic” modern life in a capitalist world, for which they continue to act as “authentic” people of nature. Second, ecotourism is supposed to “develop” Indigenous peoples, but the values of this “development” are largely based on neoliberal capitalism that creates many environmental problems today and thus does not align with natural stewardship. However, the Haiǀǀom and!Xung are not only victims of a more dominant political economy; in ecotourism, they can also take up a more active part in modernization, creating “indigenous modernities” in which Indigenous peoples bend aspects of modernization to their own benefit and strengthen their indigenous image. In this chapter, I suggest that Indigenous groups are indeed victims but also active agents who sometimes embrace their Indigenous status as “authentic.”