My research examines the mutually formative processes of state formation and the reconfiguration of indigenous communities. I examine how new forms of taxation and new ways of mobilizing labor in Ecuador during the Republican period (1830-75) contributed to the reconfiguration of indigenous communities in a highland province. I ask questions about how such reconfiguration structures subsequent indigenous responses to projects of state formation. My research extends previous work on state-indigenous community relations by focusing on the changing nature of internal differentiation within indigenous communities. Central to my project is an analysis of an important 19th century indigenous uprising known as the Levantamiento de Daquilema. This research problematizes our understanding of community solidarity and resistance during the formation of Latin American liberal states. It is an interdisciplinary project conducted at the intersection of anthropology and history.