Paper short abstract:

State's concept of ancestral domain forces Indigenous peoples to change how they occupy their lands. New territorialities shape their practices and relationships with the State and among the group. Overall, their experience of space remains different than that represented by maps.

Paper long abstract:

In the Philippines, Indigenous peoples obtained ancestral lands with the advent of governments that were more open to defence of Indigenous rights. The Blaan of Mindanao, the Ibaloi of Benguet, and the Alangan of Mindoro all obtained an ancestral domain in 2009. The Blaan are nomads who settled in the mountains of Malbulen, after they had fled the lowlands where they had committed crimes. They never stay in the same places as they consider themselves to be occupants of the land which is owned by fun spirits. The Ibaloi inhabit the mountains of Baguio. They fought against the Spaniards and negotiated with the Americans to keep their gold mines. The Alangan dwell on the hills. They protected their territory from the lowlanders by building a wall of houses. Among the three groups a few leaders handled the negotiations with the authorities to map their borders. While they found diverse solutions to dwell in peace, the many (and unresolved) conflicts that resulted as consequences of the ancestral boundaries have led them to new ways of dwelling. How does one (and who) draw such borders, and from which perspective? That of the researcher, anthropologist or geographer? That of the official? That of the local leader? That of the hunter or farmer? Through fieldwork and participatory maps, this paper aims to compare three case studies in which ancestral domain have affected Indigenous peoples and transformed their senses of place. New territorialities shape their practices, views, relationships with the State and among the group.