Modernity on the Move? Orang Talang Mamak and Reception for the Indigenous Communities Empowerment Project in Indragiri Hulu, Riau

Abstract

This article examines orang Talang Mamak's reception of modernization and development through the empowerment program of remote indigenous communities in Indragiri Hulu Province of Riau. The authors contend that the government's efforts to modernize and advance remote indigenous communities have not yielded the expected results. This writing uses qualitative methodology. We obtain research data sources through an anthropological approach to field research. We collect data by conducting in-depth interviews and observations with member of Talang Mamak communities. This writing indicates that Talang Mamak has a diverse reception for the empowerment program for remote indigenous communities. They welcomed the program while being critical and partly rejecting it. Some of them see education as a way to improve the situation because they understand that their resources are limited. They expect the government to do something to improve their economic conditions. The Mamak Talang people need the country to restore the economic, social, and cultural ecosystems that have suffered damage as a result of companies operating around their living environment.