A Glance at Indigenous Women’s Role in Preserving Local Culture through the Lens of Social Identity Approach

Abstract The Dayak Iban tribe at Sungai Utik faces various threats of industrialization and land dispossession, which has made the community more marginalized. Despite the marginalization, the Dayak Iban women are trying to empower the community and pass down the cultural heritage beyond generations. To shed light on the struggles and resilience of Dayak Iban women, this study is conducted using a narrative inquiry approach. These data were collected through naturalistic observation and five interviews with Sungai Utik inhabitants, which were then analyzed using the Social Identity approach. This study finds that the Dayak Iban women’s roles extended across several domains: domestic, tradition, education, activism, and economy. Dayak Iban women’s active role in empowering and preserving the community heritages is driven by their cohesiveness and solid social identity. This highlights the importance of the protection and sustainable development of indigenous communities.