The Third Space of Sovereignty: The Postcolonial Politics of U.S. Indigenous Relations

by Kevin Bruyneel

The imposition of modern American colonial rule has defined U.S.–indigenous relations since the time of the American Civil War. In resistance, Kevin Bruyneel asserts, indigenous political actors work across American spatial and temporal boundaries, demanding rights and resources from the government while also challenging the imposition of colonial rule over their lives. This resistance engenders what he calls a “third space of sovereignty,” which resides neither inside nor outside the U.S. political system but rather exists on its boundaries, exposing both the practices and limitations of American colonial rule.  The Third Space of Sovereignty offers fresh insights on such topics as the crucial importance of the formal end of treaty-making in 1871, indigenous responses to the prospect of U.S. citizenship in the 1920s, native politics during the tumultuous civil rights era of the 1960s, the question of indigenousness in the special election of California’s governor in 2003, and the current issues surrounding gaming and casinos. In this engaging and provocative work, Bruyneel shows how native political actors have effectively contested the narrow limits that the United States has imposed on indigenous people’s ability to define their identity and to develop economically and politically on their own terms. Kevin Bruyneel is assistant professor of politics at Babson College.

Genres: Indigenous

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kat Gale]

Although the text of the book is dry, academic, and unnecessarily prolix, The Third Space of Sovereignty outlines a way of understanding the historical and current positioning of indigenous peoples, the difficulties they must face in straddling cultural, political, and geographical boundaries, and illustrates the uncertainty of their continued place in the world. To take a sentence from page 17,"The nonbinaristic political mapping articulated through this refusal of the imperial binary is an expression of what I am calling the third space of sovereignty". In other words, indigenous peoples exist neither fully within the subjugation of the United States government nor outside of it, but rather in a nebulous relationship which he defines as "the third space of sovereignty", or a delicate balancing and political, cultural, and geographical maneuvering of independence and citizenship. This is the thesis of the book in a nutshell, and as with any text which introduces a novel idea or perspective, a seeming tautology is frequently employed in order to articulate a precise definition and understanding of the new concept so that its application within its appropriate context can be correctly utilized. Therefore, the very next sentence states that "the third space is a location inassimilable to the liberal democratic settler-state, and as such it problemetizes the boundaries of colonial rule but does not seek to capture or erase these boundaries." This repetition of his definition of "the third space", that Native Americans do not fit in the confines of US citizenship nor outside of it, but attempt to navigate between the two, is further defined with a little help from Homi Bhabha (whose definitive work, The Location of Culture, has shaped modern postcolonial discourse): "Rather, the third space of sovereignty represents what Bhabha would call a "supplemental strategy" that "does not turn contradiction into dialectical process. It interrogates it's object by initially withholding it's objective." Translation: he is reiterating that Native Americans are not legitimizing or subscribing to the dualistic inside/outside location by acknowledging its existence, but positioning themselves on the boundaries of both.

After taking the reader through an exhaustive definition of the third space of sovereignty, he spends the rest of the book reshaping the lens through which we view the history of indigenous people, from the Civil war era to modern times, by methodically applying the framework of the third space of sovereignty, illustrating the ways in which Native Americans neither conform to nor reject but rather straddle the boundaries set in place by the US government.

Is this a viable perspective? It has its merits, but it also has its flaws, as would any blanket theory which encapsulates the whole of a political, cultural, history and identity of a diverse group of people. It is a helpful tool for understanding the problems facing the status of indigenous people, but it has its limits of usefulness in framing the complex relationship between individuals, tribes, indigenous peoples as a whole, and the nation(s) in which they reside. If for no other reason, the book is valuable for its extensive bibliography of source material for those interested in the subject.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that traces different sources to think postcoloniality in the US-Indigenous history.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about Native American history that I did not know before, which was cool. I also thought Bruyneel's concepts of "colonial space" and "colonial time" were interesting, and he did a good job of outlining the major turning points in the history of the relationship between Native Americans and the United States government. But it's just really really repetitive, to the point that I found it frustrating to read. The style of writing is not very engaging. And overall, I found his concept of the third space of sovereignty interesting but not strongly compelling.

[AnneJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I found it hard to get into political science at first, this book is very clearly written and helped me see what Native American studies can contribute to transnational dialogues through the creation of a "third space" of sovereignty which challenges current definitions of the state.

[Mostly on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good application of postcolonial theory to recent Native American history.

[Humphrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fairly complex theoretical concepts, but well historicized and very readable.