Abstract

Since the last quarter of the twentieth century we have witnessed a continuous proliferation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the hemisphere, particularly those linked to carrying out projects formerly overlooked by government agencies and community-based initiatives in Northern or industrialized countries and in Southern or developing countries. Within NGO literature, led by economists, political scientists, international relations analysts, and development planners, we can identify theoretical and methodological caveats that contribute to the lack of knowledge on how to define an NGO. This paper attempts to conceptualize NGOs by looking at an ethnographic sectorial analysis of a Native employment non-government organization (NNGO) in London, Ontario, Canada. My findings indicate that it is feasible to conceptualize NNGOs as a form of governmentality where these organizations may act as state translators of Aboriginal programs, projects and policies intelligible to Aboriginal peoples residing in urban centres once translated and incorporated into the organization’s practices and discourses. Paradoxically, NNGOs may also act as political organizations that rally against state policies, programs, and projects that marginalize Aboriginal peoples’ needs and interests.