The American Homo Sacer: American Indians and Bare Life

• In Event: Oppression, Injustice and Inequality - Theorizing Mechanisms

Abstract

In his writings on biopolitics, Giorgio Agamben (1995) invokes the ancient Roman concept of homo sacer to raise questions about the nature of law and power within society. According to Agamben, the sovereign (the state) places individuals into two categories: bios (the citizen) and zoe (homo sacer). Individuals deemed as homo sacer are stripped of their citizenship and human rights. More importantly, these individuals are reduced to “bare life,” which places them outside the scope of the law. Drawing on information from in-depth interviews, I apply these concepts to the mistreatment of American Indians within the criminal justice system to illustrate how these individuals and their experiences exemplify Agamben’s ideas on homo sacer.

Author

• Favian Alejandro Martin, Arcadia University