indigeneity

noun

in·​dig·​e·​ne·​i·​ty in-ˌdi-jə-ˈnē-ə-tē  -ˈnā- 

variants or Indigeneity

: the fact, state, or experience of being Indigenous (see indigenous sense 1b) especially with reference to the history and effects of settler colonialism

I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. My family doesn't speak our language or know our ceremonies due to colonization, but we are still grounded in our indigeneity.

—Jen Deerinwater

Indigeneity is … not an identity. Sámi is an identity. … Lakota and Anishinabe … are identities. Indigeneity describes a certain set of relationships to colonialism, anticolonialism and specific lands and places.

—@storfjta, on X, formerly Twitter

… the disappearing of Indigenous peoples through settler-legislated definitions and documentation as "proof" of Indigeneity …

—Ciann L. Wilson and Ann Marie Beats

Whiteness over Indigeneity or Blackness has always been privileged. It links to class and education in pretty much all countries in Latin America and in the Caribbean.

—Isabel Molina-Guzman, quoted at NBC News (online)

The [Sundance Institute's Native] Lab focuses on centring Indigeneity in the storytelling of participants from Native and Indigenous backgrounds …

—Jeremy Kay

Those films … dismantle stereotypes. They place indigeneity in a modern context. They're not just National Geographic subjects any more.

—Madeleine Hakaraia De Young, quoted in The New Zealand Herald

Examples of indigeneity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Through engagement with this past, Chicano artists located themselves within an expansive history that preceded colonialism, suggested ties to indigeneity, and offered a deep well of iconography for adaptation within a contemporary context. —Mary Thomas, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019

As the triptych unfolds, each temporal and spatial shift provokes metaphysical questions about colonial influence on native peoples and the ever-present tensions between indigeneity and the Western world. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2024

Since the outbreak of the most recent cycle of hostilities began last fall, some detractors of Israel have sought to diminish the country’s legitimacy by, among other tactics, questioning the indigeneity of its cuisine. —Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2024

Even after the unwarranted, racially motivated police stop, Aguilar Méndez's Indigeneity continues to be criminalized. —Nicole Froio, refinery29.com, 19 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

indigen(ous) + -eity (in heterogeneity, homogeneity)

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above