The Kui in Thailand: Identity, (In)Visibility, and (Mis)Recognition

In addition to providing a more detailed background on the Kui in Surin, in this chapter I unpack the Kui’s partial exclusion from the provincial-level AHD, which has been reinforced by cultural assimilation across the ethnic groups in the region. The Kui and Khmer, in particular, have contested and overlapping claims to heritage and provincial history, which has created conflict over rights to recognition. The misrecognition of the Kui and the accompanying restriction of access to resources are consequences of exclusion from the state and provincial AHDs. This, together with the nationalistic symbolism of the Thai elephant, has produced the interesting paradox of the simultaneous visibility and invisibility of the Kui.