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Free People: The Imazighen of North Africa

The Amazigh[1], or “free people”, of North Africa seek linguistic sovereignty in opposition to the erasure of their indigenous identity by Arabization. Nuunja Kahina credits the rise of Arab nationalist regimes following the end of European colonialism as being the beginning of systemic erasure of the Amazigh identity. These regimes imprisoned and killed thousands of the indigenous peoples in order to stifle their identity and promote Arab nationalism. Policies enacted to “decolonize” language shifted from French to Arabic, disregarding the indigenous language Tamazight. Focusing on linguistic sovereignty has been central to the Amazigh struggle, in addition to other forms of resistance. This piece expands the definition of sovereignty to be rooted in something less tactile than land: language.

Kahina, Nuunja. “Free People: The Imazighen of North Africa.” Intercontinental Cry. Center for World Indigenous Studies, March 12, 2013. https://intercontinentalcry.org/free-people-the-imazighen-of-north-africa/.
 
[1] Imazighen – plural of Amazigh

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