By Georgia Jackson, College of Arts and Sciences
When Heide Casta帽eda, a professor of at the University of South Florida, travels to Morocco 鈥� a destination she frequents up to six times each year 鈥� it isn鈥檛 to visit Africa鈥檚 largest mosque or one of the historical kasbahs. Casta帽eda, a migration scholar, is there to study and understand the experience of the indigenous Amazigh people 鈥� the focal point of her new book, forthcoming from New York University Press.
Heide Casta帽eda
"Usually when we talk about indigenous groups, they鈥檙e minority groups. And in this case, in Morocco, they鈥檙e actually the majority population,鈥� Casta帽eda said. 鈥淒epending on the estimates, up to 70 percent of Moroccans may have Amazigh heritage.鈥�
Despite that fact, less than half of the 38 million people who live in Morocco speak Tamazight, the language indigenous to the Amazigh. Even fewer use Tamazight to read and write.
鈥淭heir language has been marginalized over time,鈥� said Casta帽eda, who estimates around 45 percent of Moroccans speak Tamazight. 鈥淚t makes for a unique case because they are actually not a minority.鈥�
This relationship 鈥� between heritage and language 鈥� is something Casta帽eda pays close attention to when she鈥檚 back home in the U.S., too, where a significant number of Amazigh immigrants live in cities like New York, Boston, Chicago and Orlando.
鈥淲e see indigeneity becoming an important feature of migration,鈥� Casta帽eda said. 鈥淏ut there are no statistics about indigenous Amazigh people in the U.S., since government sources don鈥檛 ask that question.鈥�
Casta帽eda's findings 鈥� on everything from contemporary Amazigh music to gender and religion 鈥� will appear in a forthcoming book that, according to Casta帽eda, offers new spin on familiar migrant narratives and new insights on the immigrant experience in the U.S.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 fit neatly into preexisting racial, ethnic and immigrant categories in the U.S.,鈥� said Casta帽eda. "They are African, but do not adhere to dominant assumptions about Blackness in America. They are predominantly Muslim and speak Arabic, but are not Arab.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique circumstance that they navigate on a daily basis.鈥�
Dr. Heide Casta帽eda is a professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida. Her research areas include critical border studies, political and legal anthropology, medical anthropology, migration, migrant health and citizenship. Her book on Amazigh in the U.S. and how indigeneity is remade in the diaspora will be available next year from New York University Press.