Between recognition and the struggle for survival : Lemkos at the beginning of the twenty-first century

During Poland's communist period, Lemkos-Ruthenian highlanders whose indigenous territory is in the Carpathians - were officially considered to be ethnic Ukrainians. The process of political transformation at the beginning of the 1990s revealed the emancipatory aspirations of certain Lemko leaders. It allowed the institutionalization of identity divisions in the group, wherein some members considered themselves part of the Ukrainian nation, while others saw themselves as a separate ethnic group. The Polish authorities, having accepted the Lemko bid for emancipation, financed cultural activities and education. The group gained formal recognition in 2005 with the adoption of the law on minorities, which names the Lemkos as one of four ethnic minorities (Ustawa… 2005). This success, however, has not ended identity disputes within the group, and its separateness is still called into question. What determines the contemporary condition of the Lemko community is its small numbers and territorial dispersion resulting from post-WWII forced displacement. In this chapter, I present the challenges that active Lemko leaders have faced since their legal recognition. On the one hand, they benefit from the protection of minorities now guaranteed by Polish law and take measures to maintain and preserve Lemko culture. However, they must also deal with both intragroup and external opponents who contest emancipatory aspirations