The Dual Meaning of 'Indigenous' in European Politics
European popular culture romanticizes distant Indigenous resistance, while nationalist politics weaponize the concept of autochthony to exclude neighbors and migrants.
- Karl May’s novels and European Western comics shaped generations of European views on Native Americans, often romanticizing resistance to conquest.
- In Yugoslavia, anti-colonial pop culture aligned with the state's Partisan narrative but did not prevent the ethnic violence of the 1990s.
- Nationalist politicians selectively use anti-colonial arguments to criticize geopolitical opponents while ignoring similar historical actions by their own states.
- Genetic ancestry data is frequently misinterpreted by nationalists as proof of direct descent from ancient populations, ignoring scientific complexity and mixture.
For many Europeans, the word “Indigenous” carries two conflicting meanings. One is a romanticized, fictional image of distant communities defending their land against colonizers, shaped by pulp fiction, films, and comics. The other is a nationalist claim of “autochthony,” where groups assert exclusive ownership of territory based on being the “original” inhabitants, using this status to delegitimize neighbors and migrants.
The Balkans illustrate how these ideas coexist. Popular culture, driven by Karl May’s novels and European Western comics like Blueberry and Tex, created an imagined American West. In Yugoslavia, these stories aligned with the state’s anti-colonial solidarity and Partisan liberation narrative, framing resistance to conquest as a moral virtue.
However, this cultural foundation did not prevent the rise of ethno-nationalism in the 1990s. The same populations that celebrated anti-colonial heroes engaged in ethnic cleansing, using “autochthony” to justify expulsion and assimilation. If neighbors are viewed as temporary intruders, removing them is framed as restoration rather than injustice.
Modern nationalist rhetoric continues to exploit this duality. Figures like Vojislav Šešelj have invoked the destruction of Native Americans to criticize the West while supporting leaders who pursue expansionist policies in their own regions. Genetic research is often misused to provide pseudo-scientific backing for these claims, reducing complex migration histories into certificates of ethnic authenticity.
The paradox is distinctly European: in fiction, “being there first” identifies a dispossessed people deserving protection; in politics, it becomes a license for exclusion. As anti-migrant movements in France, Britain, and Germany treat newcomers as permanent “guests,” the boundary between host and guest remains a tool for political division rather than a basis for human rights.
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