A Mining Theme Park—Cultural Competition and the Politics of Identity Claims in an Indonesian Mining Town

Abstract

The Wallacea–Sawerigading Mining Park (Taman Tambang Wallacea Sawerigading) in the mining town of Sorowako in Sulawesi, Indonesia, has been created by the mining company whose operations dominate the landscape and the local economy. The theme park juxtaposes the distinctive flora and fauna, and the pre-colonial history of the region, with the modern mining operations, creating a thematic stamp for regional identity. This article discusses the park and related tourism and leisure activities to illuminate processes of identity formation and identity-based competition in this cosmopolitan town. The voices of the original inhabitants (the orang asli Sorowako—autochthonous people of Sorowako), who have deployed their resistance identity in articulating rights claims, today are in competition with multiple foci of identity-making—from the mining company, governments, and migrants to the mining region. The paper draws on the author’s long-term research (from 1977 to now) following the social transformations associated with the mine.