Mikea is a social ientity for Malagasy speaking horticulturalists/foragers of southwestern Madagascar. Mikea identity is flexible and complex, linked to living in the forest and using forest resources. Foraging and maize horticulture connect the Mikea with local, regional, and global economies. Being Mikea also entails managing connotations of primitivism with the social and economic consequences of government, researcher, missionary, and tourist interest in hunter-gatherers.