“I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance.”
Janis Blaugher
Anthro 200
Suzanne Kent
Research Paper: Topic B
Indigenous People of Guatemala
Throughout human history, indigenous societies around the world have withered under the expansion of European societies. The “white man’s burden”, which asserted that the colonial powers of the world had the responsibility of bringing education and civilization to other races that were viewed as inferior, was a widely accepted concept in western thinking countries and qualified the removal of indigenous people from their homeland (Kent 2014). Overtime this has led to mass ethnocides, or destruction cultures, around the world (Kent 2014). Many irreplaceable cultures have been adversely
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2005).
The indigenous people of Guatemala had a similar history to the other Latin American countries; beginning with a relatively successful empire and ending in the social, political and economic domination of the indigenous people (Kent 2014). In the 16th century the Mayan civilization was invaded and conquered by the Spanish, which quickly led to the fall of the Mayan empire (MRGI 2008). Despite maintaining a distinct indigenous culture, Guatemalan Mayans did not avoid the impoverishment or violence that was standard in the colonies (Pebley 2005). Approximately 300 years after its initial conquest by the Spanish, Guatemala declares itself independent and proceeds to assimilate with Mexican empire (Gascoigne 2001). This merge is short lived and after the fall of Emperor Iturbide in 1823, Guatemala decides to assert its independence (Gascoigne 2001). The following period Guatemala is led by unstable forces, as a series of caudillos, or Latin American dictators, rule Guatemala (Gascoigne 2001). Guatemala undergoes a political revolution in 1934 and forms its first democratic constitution (Gascoigne 2001). The Guatemalan population overwhelmingly elect Juan Arevalo as their president, who introduced reforms in the areas
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As the remote and frigid highlands of Guatemala did not provide a significant source of resources, the Spaniards had no economic interest in overtaking that part of the country (Lovell 1988). The fact that the resource lacking highlands of Guatemala remained relatively unscathed by the Spanish is in line with Despres’s thesis that “competition for scarce resources accounts for a great deal of the when and where of ethnic confrontations” (Lovelle 1988: 31). Wealth and new resources are the great motivator of these western colonial powers which is why they can easily disregard indigenous populations. Since the highlands provided no economic incentive, it allowed for the preservation of 21 different Mayan groups which are the only indigenous people in Central America to make up a majority of their country’s population. This allows the Mayans to cultivate “relatively autonomous, isolated, corporate communities” (Pebley 2005: 217).However, it is speculated by Pebley et al. (2005) that the perseverance of the indigenous culture has made them more vulnerable to modern day economic, social and political challenges especially since they can be easily discerned and discriminated against. “Indigenous Guatemalans are faced with the formidable task of finding a place in a commercial, industrializing and urbanizing society…” (Pebley
Rigoberta Menchu, a Quiche Indian woman native to Guatemala, is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for politically reaching out to her country and her people. In her personal testimony tittled “I, Rigoberta Menchu” we can see how she blossomed into the Nobel Prize winner she is today. Following a great deal in her father’s footsteps, Rigoberta’s mobilization work, both within and outside of Guatemala, led to negotiations between the guerillas and the government and reduced the army power within Guatemala. Her work has helped bring light to the strength of individuals and citizen organization in advocacy and policy dialogue on the world scale. In a brief summary of the book I will explore why Rigoberta Menchu is important to Guatemalan development, what she did, and how she helped her people overcome the obstacles thrown their way.
The Popol Vuh is a collection of historical mythos of the K’iche’ Maya, a group that still lives in the Guatemalan highlands. Popol Vuh translates as either, “Book of Council” or in proper K’iche’ “Book of Events” or “Book of the People”, and tells the creation mythos of the K’iche’ peoples, an epic tale of Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, along with a series of genealogies.
Gleijeses Piero. Shattered Hope The Guatemalan Revolution and The United States, 1944-1954. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Guatemala held democratic elections in 1944 and 1951, they resulted in leftist government groups holding power and rule of the country. Intervention from the United States and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) backed a more conservative military minded regime. A military coup took place in 1954 to over throw the elected government and install the rule of Carlos Castillo Armas. Carlos Armas was a military general before the coup and with the CIA orchestrated operation he was made President from July 8th 1954 until his assassination in 1957. Upon his assassination, similar militant minded presidents rose to power and continued to run the country. Due to the nature of military dictatorship, in 1960, social discontent began to give way to left wing militants made up of the Mayan indigenous people and rural peasantry. This is the match that lit Guatemala’s Civil War, street battles between the two groups tore the country and pressured the autocratic ruler General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes to fight harder against the civilian insurrection. Similar to the government Abductions th...
From the time of its colonization at the hands of Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1500’s, Guatemala has suffered under the oppression of dictator after dictator. These dictators, who ruled only with the support of the military and only in their own interests, created a form of serfdom; by 1944, two percent of the people owned 70 percent of the usable land.
Schlesinger, Stephen C., and Stephen Kinzer. Bitter Fruit: the Story of the American Coup in Guatemala. [Boston, Mass.]: Harvard University, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, 1999. Print.
In the 1630’s Mayans living in the northern part of Guatemala organized in a secretive village-by-village basis and mounted an attack against the Spanish colonial rule. They drove the Colonizers out of the area and it took almost fifty years for the Spanish to reclaim it [i] . Over 350 years later the Mexican government woke up on January 1st 1994 to news of an indigenous guerilla uprising in the southern part of Mexico. Mayans had been secretly organizing, much in the same way as the 1630 revolt, and had formed the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). This new Zapatista movement took its name from Emilio Zapata, a famous champion of indigenous rights. On January first, the day of NAFTA’s implementation, the EZLN rose up and captured the city of San Cristbal de las Casas and several villages in the surrounding area. In the span of eleven days they were able to take hold of more land than many other guerrilla movements, such as the FMLN in El Salvador, had done in years.
The Mayan Genocide was a result of a civil war concerning communism and democracy between corrupt leaders and the people of Guatemala. The Guatemalan army carried out the genocide under the self-proclaimed name “killing machines”. According to the article Genocide in Guatemala “the army destroyed 626 villages, killed or “disappeared” more than 200,000 people and displaced an additional 1.5 million, while more than 150,000 were driven to seek refuge in Mexico”. The army murdered and tortured without regard to age or gender, men, women, and children all alike. In an attempt to end the conflict Peace Accords were signed, in spite of the fact that there was little change. Directly following the Mayan genocides, Guatemala faced physical and emotional
Did you know that Peru is one of the top ten countries to visit in the world? (UNWTO) Peru has unique music and energetic dances that are fun to see. The people are friendly and charming; they would be happy to help one find their way if they need help. But, the main reason Peru appears on the top ten list is because of its unique geographical features. Some examples are the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu and Cusco. The art and culture of the Peruvians, as well as the people themselves,and the popular places to go, are what tourists like to see in Peru.
Imagine yourself as an Ixil Mayan at the local marketplace. You wander around the stalls, viewing the hand-crafted goods. As the midday sun beats down on you, the sound of footsteps coming towards you becomes audible among the chatter of your fellow Mayans. Suddenly, the voices stop, and a gunshot echoes in the air. For what seems like an eternity, the marketplace is drowned in the slight whimpers of children as their mothers’ skirts muffle their moaning. You are still frozen in your place in front a stall. Then, a quick moment of common sense drives you to hide behind a wall. Before you know what is happening, the space around the market is filled with screams. A man falls down beside you with his eyes rolled back and a gaping wound in his chest. Blood trickles through the wall. The pleading cries of the women have a chilling effect. As more bodies fall down beside you, you suddenly become aware of an officer standing above you. A gun is pointed at you. Up until now, you didn’t think of running, but once the trigger is pulled, you know you don’t have a chance. Moments later, you are gone. The genocide that occurred in Guatemala tragically cost thousands of Ixil Mayan lives and ruined many others.
I always live as a Guatemalan for the last 15 years, it was hard when I had to move from my country to another that was very different than mine and find out that in this new country is a different languages and different cultures. Maybe for the first time that I was walking to the school, I feel like I was in Guatemala people with the same skin color as me, but when I heard them talked I heard a new word, different accents and I realized that everything was chance.
When the Spanish began to arrive in Mexico and in Central America in the early 15th century, one of the many civilizations they found was the Maya. The Maya, building upon the Olmec culture, were located in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, southern Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Even though they had many similarities, the Maya were separated by language differences. Because of that they were organized into city-states. Since there wasn’t a single city-state powerful enough to impose a political structure, the period from 200 A.D. to the arrival of the Spanish was characterized by the struggle of rival kingdoms for dominance.
Carlsen, Robert. The War for the Heart & Soul of a Highland Maya Town. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.
Racial divisions are evident in societies across the globe, and have been for centuries. While there are distinct differences between these relationships of class and race, many similarities are clear. History has shown a long list of tactics to exploit, terrorize, and manipulate racial minorities and lower class citizens. For the indigenous people of Guatemala and the American Indians, the inception of racial and class discrimination occurred during colonialization and continues to show its impact today.