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Indigenous Street Children in Ecuador: Contested Narratives of Mental Health and Disability

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Dis/ability in the Americas

Part of the book series: Education in Latin America and the Caribbean ((ELAC))

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Abstract

This chapter examines the psychosocial conditions that impact indigenous peoples and interrogates the constructs of indigeneity and mental illness by approaching gendered and racial dynamics that define the discursive and material conditions for indigenous people in Ecuador. The realities of these communities are examined through the use of a case vignette that highlights the dialectics of power and resistance that in the context of unresponsive institutional initiatives, further impact those who experience the influence of violence, trauma, substance abuse, and school dropout in indigenous Ecuador. This examination deploys disability studies frameworks to create the arguments around the variables studied and attempts to provide specific and objective actionable steps to address the complexities of these persons’ lives by the government and by mental health professionals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

    Michele Rivas

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  1. Michele Rivas
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Correspondence to Michele Rivas .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Chantal Figueroa

  2. Department of Special Education, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, USA

    David I. Hernández-Saca

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Rivas, M. (2021). Indigenous Street Children in Ecuador: Contested Narratives of Mental Health and Disability. In: Figueroa, C., Hernández-Saca, D.I. (eds) Dis/ability in the Americas. Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56942-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56942-6_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56941-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56942-6

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