Good question. No real answer, but perhaps one hint that could be leading: Are those radical identities connected to the Problem of identity loss, coming from the destruction of "indigenous" identitys in the colonial aera?

@ Andy: yes, that`s a brilliant hint. Actually, you put your finger on the real `injury`/ reason. In my personal view, colonial history lies behind the identity loss and especially identity `fragmentation` that many people from previously colonized countries suffer from. Accordingly, any act of reform to this identity should seek for a good way to gather together the shattered fragments of the lost, `indigenous` identity.

Many thanks for the inspirational answer Andy and if you have any references related to the colonial factor in the post-colonial identity crisis please let me avail of them in my research.

Dear Rafik,

youre welcome. Sadly i have no exact refrence, but the question about the indigenous identity Problem goes an very high Levels here - especially in the cutlrual anthropologies and in the science of ethnology. It is more the question, to whom the once taken objects belong, but bound to this question is also the problem, if modern societies still can fix their modern selfpicture to older - normaly seen through european glasses - descriptions.

In my own Research about the usability of the term 'shaman' fort the Interpretation of archaeological burials, i found quite problematic Pictures: As shamanism was Long time forbidden in many parts of siberian russia, the nowadays shamans have nothing in common with those living two hunders years before. Only the objects can be the same: When shamanism was forbidden, some costumes and drums were hidden and survived - often although their users died. Now, the Grandgrandchildren are using ethnographical literature to reconstruct the older ways and this for sure leads to big solving Problems. Perhaps if you want to follow this way of religious self identification crisis, please check out the works of Dmitry Arzyutov, Andrei Znamenski or Erich Kasten - at least Aryutov and Znamenski were Publishing in english and are still activ and always reachable via mail for questions!

Best wishes,

Andy

Good morning.

I have interest to get more inputs about radical identities. Is it possible to get a full paper?

Good morning William,

Thank you for your interest, but, sorry, I don`t have a full paper about this topic. That is why I have launched this question in order to get some input from RG member that will help me in my research.

Sorry again for not having enough input about the topic.

Thank you very much for the answer Andy; archaeology is not my academic affiliation, but still I will try to avail from  its historical facts in my literary research.

Interesting discussion. Also amongst the Sámi people in Northern Scandinavia one can observe loss of language and identity because of colonialism and racism in the Nordic countries. Nowadays young poets and singers (joik, a way of singing, and also the Sámi had/have shamans) are engaged in a process of revitalizing the lost language and thus identity as well.

Are we truly post-colonial in every sense of the term?  If not then colonial attitudes persists, recreating the circumstances of existence subjugation brought with it. whilst colonialism exists embodied in laws, culture, architecture and importantly in the minds of populations;  Radical identities surely form in resistance to assimilation and cultural demonization, leading to identity erasure.

Radical boundary maintenance (Barthes) gives rise to racial formations (Omi and Winant) of many opportune memories.  My research experience deals with Spanish colonial mission documents from Texas and northeastern Mexico and shows the direct radicalizing of apostates who escaped colonial subjugation to become effective militant leaders.  My personal experience has been a maturity curve through which I see more subtle "colonial" mechanisms that alienate people in general from acceptance of the depth of complexity that continues to give rise to waves of remembrance and new tools for anticolonial action and alliances.  I would say that your use of radical may benefit from separating revolutionary action, say Marxist forms, and the radical establishment of Indigenous forms of learning and teaching in the camps established in the 1994 Zapatista revolution in Chiapas, Mexico.  This can be seen again in the Water is Lfe movement emerging from Standing Rock and #NODAPL in which Indigenous reeducation camps from cultural revitalization in ways that are far from leading to identity erasure.  

@ Soraya Beg: As response to your rhetorical question, I would say that the term `post-colonial` cannot exceed the historical and literary boundaries. Yet, in actual fact colonialism is still persisting, with different forms and different strategies, in many third world countries. Thus, the identity crisis is still not resolved and people from these countries still suffer from a hybrid (a la Homi Bhabha and Fanon) and fragmented (frail) identity. Actually, the `post-colonial` endeavor to retrieve the lost identity of peoples from previously-colonized countries is basically a human act of redeeming their dignity as independent subjects.

Thank you Soraya for your comment, I really appreciate.

@ Enrique Maestas: I can see your point related to the `apostates` and the `zapatista` revolution. Actually, I have one published article about the impure identity in the poetry of Pablo Neruda where, in one point, I deal with the identity issues of `mestizaje` people in Latin America and where Neruda attempts to assimilate these people within the Chilean society via foregrounding a plural and inclusive identity. Then, for your point related to ethnic issues in the context of Mexican American borders, what do you think is the best solution to resolve the identity crisis as well as the radicalism that surrounds some ethnic groups in the Mexican society? 

In relation to 'plural and inclusive identities' and 'rejection of the 'other'' I think it is worth keeping in mind the nuances within these pluralities (see, for example, Sara Ahmed on multiculturalism and 'stranger/danger' in her book Strange Encounters 2000). I do not think we can find 'real causes,' but awareness of the histories which have inform these radicalisms linked to identity might shed light on the factors that we must pay attention to (in order to have a more fully understanding of the conflict). 

In the southwest US and northern Mexico continued colonization of Native lands and communities has achieved  a high profile because of the concern that people have for Native American issues, including those of Indigenous peoples of Mexico.  Surely, some of this is post-colonial romanticism on the part of archaeologists and other scholars to assume cultural extinction and smugly assert the demise of languages and spiritual practices.  This appears to be an outdated post-colonial paradigm that is referred to as the "Vanishing Indian Theory".  I believe that this was invoked in the 1893 Columbian celebrations expressing the demise of Native peoples and the victory of Western European culture.  The assumption of archaeologists and other scholars to be arbitration agents over the identity of Indigenous peoples is palpably colonial.  As many Native American cultural and language revitalization projects leaning heavily on ethnographic material that I have witnessed, I have witnessed at least as many that rely on the oral tradition.  In addition, archaeologists, sociologists, and others rely on research that most often gets IT wrong a la Americo Paredes.  And if you need to ask what IT is, you have already gotten it wrong because it is your ticket to ride.  Otherwise, we will tell you that we do not speak our language and that the old ways are gone...on our way to a ceremony, healing, and birthing.  Part of this is lack of resolution in what authenticity and authority means within the community that has already preserved more than you can even imagine has been lost.  Indigenous cultures have adapted and developed in the post-colonial and post-modern world and to argue for their demise is the equivalent of arguing for the demise of academia because we carry most of our discourse out in electronic media and use social media conventions and even...emojis.  The days of book library research and archival research is extinct, right?  There are more Indigenous births, initiations, and ceremonies than ever before informing the practice of radical alternatives for health and education that include but are not restricted to traditional forms.