Abstract
Although strategic essentialism (SE) tends to simplify social reality, it facilitates the mobilisation and formulation of political demands by oppressed and marginalised groups. However, it is also through the formulation of common demands that the group (American 'Indian') is homogenised and power relations within it are consolidated.
Indeed, political demands often articulate and prioritise the interests of only one - usually the dominant - section. The interests of the remaining people, on the other hand, are often neglected.
The downside of SE is also the reinforcement of stereotypes, especially when the label of collective identity is already in use before the political mobilisation. In this paper, the author reflects on the relationship between SE and American "Indian" identity and the question of the use of SE in the Czech environment.