Negotiating Ethnic Representation between Self and Other: The Case of Karen and Eco-tourism in Thailand (<Special Issue>Redefining "Otherness" from Northern Thailand)

Abstract

Since the late 1980s, the hill dwelling minority in Thailand have gained visibility amidsocial movements concerning environmental conservation, community forest rights, andthe appeal for citizenship. In this process they have gained a stage and a voice to representthemselves to a considerable degree. The discourse and representation pertaining to thehill-dwellers are becoming an arena of negotiation, where the hill-dwellers themselves areactive participants. In this paper, I examine the layers of discourse regarding the Karenwhich has evolved within the changing socio-political context. Participants in the discourseadopt varied elements of the existing layers of discourse by travelers, missionaries, academics, administrators and NGOs which have all contributed to the stereotype of theKaren as the meek and submissive hill-dwellers. In the latter half of the paper, I take up acase of a recent eco-tourism venture in Chiang Mai Province, and analyze how villagerswhose existence has been precarious for decades due to its position on the edge of aNational Park have chosen to represent themselves in the venture. Eco-tourism especiallyprovides a pertinent arena for the negotiation of such self/other representation.