The aim of the thesis is to investigate the relationship between power and indigenous peoples and to find a relevant method with which to study this relationship. It is the condition of power or the lack of power that allows an ethnic group, a tribe , an indigenous people or a people, to become a nation .
Power has thus a significant affect on ethnicity and in recognising ethnic groups as nations.
I argue that indigenous peoples have to be understood as self-defined ethnic minorities which include the dynamic character of identities. This subjective definition will focus on the constitution process of identities, rather than objective attributes. It also highlights the power aspects of identification. However, the subjective definition also creates a crucial problem. The three traditional views of power cannot combine identity with power.