The Lettered Indian

Reviews / Votes

"The Lettered Indian is a beautifully narrated and painstakingly documented history of Indigenous education in twentieth-century Bolivia. Drawing on a prodigious array of archival, print, and oral sources, Brooke Larson weaves a history of Aymara activism, in which schooling and literacy play a primary role, thus putting the lie to the myth of the 'oral Indian.' At once historical and ethnographic, this book places Indigenous actors at the center of Bolivian history to tell a powerful and vibrant story of postcolonial nation-building. It is a major contribution to Latin American history, anthropology, and Indigenous studies." - Joanne Rappaport, author of (Cowards Don't Make History: Orlando Fals Borda and the Origins of Participatory Action Research) "The Lettered Indian is a monumental work by a masterly historian. Through profound investigation, incisive analysis, and compelling narration, Brooke Larson shows how education is central for decolonization. Moving between Indigenous activism and peasant community initiative, national intellectual debate and state policy, as well as US imperial projects, her book reveals that the struggle over popular education led to the dismantling of neocolonial modernity in Bolivia over the course of the twentieth century." - Sinclair Thomson, coeditor of (The Bolivia Reader: History, Culture, Politics) "Larson's eloquent study of Indigenous education in Bolivia lays bare with triumphant clarity the inevitable destination-the reclamation of a heritage and identities from the iron grip of tight Euro-American imperial narratives. ... This fascinating study provides a key insight into the discourse and practice of race and indigeneity in the nation-building projects of elites and those they dominate, behind which Indigenous Bolivians themselves sought to wrest the agenda into their own hands."

- Gavin O'Toole (Latin American Review of Books) "The Lettered Indian is a monumental work that should become a key reference point for twentieth-century Latin American history, even beyond the theme of Indigenous education in Bolivia. It is also a model for writing, as it richly paints urban and rural landscapes and colourful figures of all stripes and personalities, and does so paying close attention to the ebbs and flows of political and economic dynamics." - Bret Gustafson (Journal of Latin American Studies) "This book, a long time coming, is a great addition to Bolivian history and to the history of education in Latin America. It is also an excellent and deeply researched political history of twentieth-century Bolivia (and especially the northern Andean highlands), as refracted through education policy. I can highly recommend it for those interested in the history of Bolivia, Latin American education policy, and Indigenous education and social movements." - Erick D. Langer (Hispanic American Historical Review)