Indigenous Studies Commons^™

U Kunali’ Bolon T’Aano’Ob, Donny Limber De Atocha Brito May

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Poema original de Donny Limber de Atocha Brito May en Yucatec Maya

Seated On The Bank Of The Yichk’U River, Daniel Caño

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

The six poems included here are presented in Q’anjob’al Maya and in English, side by side for language comparison. Collectively, the poems convey reflections on the poet’s renderings of beauty, wisdom, romance, and the natural world; in a style of eloquence amplified by directness and brevity. Glimpses of village, family, childhood and old age, life and death, are interwoven with cosmological wisdoms. Palpable resentment toward the Church and ladinos are graciously tempered with lightness and humor. Reprinted from “Sentado en la orilla del río Yichk’u “ POE Talleras, (2018) Huehuetenango, Guatemala, with permission from the author and publishers.

Apuntes Para Comentar El Libro "Sentado En La Orilla Del Río Yichk’U", Sergio Vives

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Sentado en la orilla del río Yichk’u, es el título de un trabajo en el que Daniel Caño nos invita con la generosidad que le caracteriza a acompañarlo en un viaje por distintos episodios de su vida iniciando precisamente en el escenario de la orilla de ese río que corre y que forma parte de la vida cotidiana de la comunidad Payconob´, la misma que le vio nacer en territorio ancestral del pueblo maya Q’anjob’al en lo que hoy conocemos como el municipio de Santa Eulalia. En esta obra su autor entrelaza elementos simbólicos de la cosmovisión maya con momentos …

Análisis Discursivo Del Tren Maya: Fragmentación Territorial De Una Promesa Desarrollista, Ivet Reyes Maturano

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

La Península de Yucatán, al sur de la República Mexicana vive una profunda transformación derivada de la implementación de proyectos de gran infraestructura tanto públicos como privados. Tal es el caso del proyecto denominado Tren Maya (TM) y megaproyectos energéticos. Si bien existen varios estudios referentes a los posibles efectos socioambientales relativos al carácter material de estos megaproyectos, en este breve trabajo me pregunto cómo la dimensión discursiva, no material, del proyecto TM sustenta su despliegue y afecta la reconfiguración territorial. Específicamente, describo cómo los análisis técnicos de estos proyectos recurren a la fragmentación del territorio y de los proyectos …

Complete Issue: Volume 4 Issue 2, Cristina Oehmichen, Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

The full Issue 2, Volume 4 of Maya America, published December 2022

Sentado En La Orilla Del Río Yichk’U, Daniel Caño

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

La poesía y las historias de Daniel Caño nos hablan sobre la vitalidad de su cultura y su lengua. Los seis poemas que se incluyen se presentan en la lengua maya Q'anjob'al y en español, uno al lado del otro para su comparación. Los poemas transmiten un conjunto de reflexiones acerca de la interpretación del poeta sobre la belleza, la sabiduría, el romance y el mundo natural; en un estilo de elocuencia enaltecido por la franqueza y la brevedad de la palabra. Las visiones del pueblo, de la familia, de la infancia y la vejez, y de la vida y …

The Flow Of (Re)Memory In African American And Nubian Egyptian Literature: Morrison, Oddoul, And Mukhtar, Bushra Hashem

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to define the term rememory, which Toni Morrison coins in her novel Beloved, and explore its interplay with water imagery in the novel and in two Nubian short stories, namely Haggag Oddoul’s “The River People” and Yahya Mukhtar’s “The Nile Bride.” The three narratives have core common features: they centralize water bodies as key sites of events, they depend heavily on the retelling of history and mythology, and they are told predominantly from the perspective of women. How do the writers weave rememory, history, and mythology to produce these narratives? Are they attempting to …

Cuteness And Curanderismo, Mylan T. Nguyen

Art Theses and Dissertations

Abstract:

In this paper I analyze the trajectory of concepts and explorations in my art practice during my graduate studies from 2019-2022. I examine how an interest in magic, healing and interconnectedness has led me to create illustration, ceramic, and risograph art that interprets the stories and practices I have encountered around Curanderismo, and Nahuales. I examine how these stories are shaped and also celebrate the wealth of healing knowledge they can provide.

The Rise Of An Eco-Spiritual Imaginary: Ecology And Spirituality As Decolonial Protest In Contemporary Multi-Ethnic American Literature, Andrew Michael Spencer

English Theses and Dissertations

The Rise of an Eco-Spiritual Imaginary reveals a shared ecological aesthetic among contemporary U.S. ethnic writers whose novels communicate a decolonial spiritual reverence for the earth. This shared narrative focus challenges white settler colonial mythologies of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism to instantiate new ways of imagining community across socially constructed boundaries of time, space, nation, race, and species. The eco-spiritual imaginary—by which I mean a shared reverence for the ecological interconnection between all living beings—articulates a common biological origin and sacredness of all life that transcends racial difference while remaining grounded in local ethnicities and bioregions. The novelists representing …

All These Things We've Done Before: A Brief History Of Red-Power Inspired Projects, Programs, And Efforts At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln And What They Can Do For Us Today, Jake Borgmann

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Red Power Movement from 1969-1975 inspired both Indigenous and non- Indigenous students and faculty from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to work for the betterment of Indigenous peoples in areas of affirmation, education, leadership, and language preservation and revitalization. For a time, student efforts by the Council of American Indian Students, faculty sponsored Indigenous education-centered programs, educational outreach through television, and Lakota language courses helped carve out an Indigenous space on campus where Indigenous students could thrive and seek empowerment through education. This era of Red Power-inspired projects, programs, and efforts at UNL peaked from 1969 to the early …

Colonial Markets, Consumers, And Trade: A Comparative Analysis Of Historic Ceramics From The Bluefields Bay Area, Westmoreland, Jamaica, Lacy Risner

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The ceramic assemblages from a British colonial settlement in Bluefields Bay, Jamaica, provide a unique window into the market availability, exchange routes, and consumption patterns of the eighteenth century. This study compares the historic ceramics collected from two sites in Bluefields Bay to one another and to other intra-island (Jamaica), intraregional (Lesser Antilles), and international (North America) colonial and postcolonial sites to reveal patterns of individual and global ceramic consumption and distribution in the emergent capitalist networks and markets of the colonial era. Integrating small British colonial sites into the networks of other more extensive studies focusing primarily on plantations …

Shapeshifting Power: Indigenous Teachings Of Trickster Consciousness And Relational Accountability For Building Communities Of Care, Ionah M. Elaine Scully

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Difficult dialogues are necessary work in order for communities to form coalitions, yet often these dialogues pose challenges for engaging in long-term work for social justice and systemic change. Power dynamics, microaggressions, and discomfort unlearning power and privilege can make long-term collaboration difficult. It is for this reason I discuss thinking of coalitions as communities of care and offer practical strategies for collaborating differently for sustainable action. Using Indigenous epistemology and methodology, Indigenous feminist and Indigequeer scholarship, as well as Indigenous land-based pedagogy and storytelling, I offer interventions using trickster teachings or trickster consciousness which I describe as comprised of …

Improving Veteran Access; Status Of Operations Of The United States Department Of Veteran Affairs Work-Study Program, Kirk Allen

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The usage status of The U.S. Department Veterans Affairs Work-Study Program is examined. Beneficiary numbers from the Global, Unites States, State, and Local/County perspective are reviewed. While of essential value, the program suffers from a lack of scholarly research and government oversight, and is further hindered by restrictive administrative rules lived first-hand. Research suggests that the program is operating outside of accountability to the taxpayer, presents as unnecessarily/overly-restrictive in accessibility, and is underutilized. The program appears to not be serving all veterans to full potential.

The Work-Study Program is codified in Veterans Benefits', Title 38 United States Code, Part III, …

Repensando A San Simón, El Sincretismo Y La Autoridad Antropológica, C. James Mackenzie

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

The tradition of San Simón in Guatemala has long garnered considerable interest among foreign and national academics, tourists, and Guatemalans in general from a range of backgrounds. Many, though not all, are drawn to the ambiguity and multiple identities often attributed to this deity, including associations with Pedro de Alvarado and Judas Iscariot as well as autochthonous figures such as the Maya deity Mam or other figures from Indigenous history and culture. In this article, based primarily on ethnographic research conducted since 1994, I trace opinions and assessments concerning San Simón, from a range of interlocutors, and consider how these …

“Why Would Anyone Leave?”: Development, Overindebtedness, And Migration In Guatemala, Lauren Heidbrink, Giovanni Batz, Celeste Sánchez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Over the past two decades, policymakers have expressed considerable optimism about the capacity of international development to curb transnational migration, yet there is a dearth of research examining how and under what conditions development interventions impact migration decisions. Enlisting a case study approach in the Maya-K’iche’ community of Almolonga, this article examines divergent meanings and practices of “development” and its impact on the migratory aspirations and outcomes of Indigenous families in Guatemala. Government authorities and international development experts exalt Almolonga as a prosperous example of a globalized, agrarian-based economy. Key to its ‘success’ is the growing microcredit industry which advertises …

Biographies/Biografías, Alan Lebaron

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Biographies for all authors

Trends In Language Choice And Effects Of Choice On Acquisition: Kaqchikel Maya And Spanish In Central Guatemala, Jonathan Homquist, Hana Muzika Kahn

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

This study reveals trends in the choice of Kaqchikel Maya, Spanish, or both languages for household activities and by the generations, that is, the children, parents, and grandparents, in a village and a town in the central highlands of Guatemala. Similarities and differences between the village and town are described in both cases. The study also highlights the direct relationship between the language choice of parents and the acquisition of Kaqchikel by children. A total of 171 indigenous residents in the town and the village participated in the study. Findings are based on responses to a sociolinguistic questionnaire that also …

Migración Indígena Ayuujk: Recuento De Una Trayectoria Familiar, Telmo Jiménez Diaz

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

La migración es un fenómeno complejo que impacta en las formas de vida de las comunidades, las familias y las personas que emigran. Las comunidades indígenas se han integrado a la migración interna e internacional desde mediados del siglo XX. En este texto, hago un recuento de la trayectoria migratoria de mi familia, en un ejercicio reflexivo, muestro una mirada diacrónica de los cambios en la región mixe y desde ahí retomo mi experiencia de investigación en la antropología.

Complete Issue: Volume 3 Issue 3, Alan Lebaron, Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

The full Issue 3, Volume 3 of Maya America, published November 2021

A History Of Land Tenure In The Ixil Region, Elaine Elliott

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

After the Spanish conquest, the IxilMayainitially remained less affected than more centrally located groups. However, dramatic changes occurred due to Guatemalan national government laws in the late 1800s which allowed claims on “vacant land”. Maya on those lands quickly adapted, claiming the areas where they had lived for over a millennium. The government favored large landowners who contributed to the national economy with export crops, particularly coffee. In the 1950s era of land reform, small farmers briefly obtained land, something quicklyreversed with the overthrow of the national government, accused of communism for these reforms. Conflict escalated when a leftist guerrilla …

¿Cómo Migramos? Una Perspectiva Autoetnografíca Sobre La Migración, Yunitza Vásquez Vásquez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

El tema de la migración resulta ser muy amplio y se puede abordar desde la identidad, el género, el racismo, y el cuerpo, por esta razón me resulta importante hablar sobre este proceso desde mi experiencia como antropóloga, mujer, e indígena migrante. Este trabajo se presenta en cuatro partes. En la primera reflexiono sobre mi origen zapoteco-mixe y la discriminación étnica dentro y fuera de la comunidad Villa Hidalgo Yalálag. En la segunda parte abordo las causas de la migración yalalteca, en la tercera hablo sobre los medios de comunicación y su contribución para fortalecer los lazos entre los migrantes …

Cover And Introductory Note, Alan Lebaron, Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Front matter of Maya America Vol.3 Iss.3, including Introductory Note from the Editors

La Tenencia De Tierra En La Región Ixil, Elena Elliott

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Después de la Conquista Española, los Ixiles no fueron tan impactados como otros grupos más centrales. Sin embargo, cambios dramáticos ocurrieron debido a leyes del gobierno nacional de Guatemala al final de los años 1800 que permitieron reclamo de tierras baldías. Los Mayas en estas tierras adaptaron, reclamando las áreas donde habían vivido más de un milenio. El gobierno favoreció terratenientes que contribuyeron a la economía nacional con cultivos para exportación, especialmente el café. En los años 1950 en un tiempo de reforma agraria pequeños agricultores obtuvieron tierra, algo rápidamente cancelado con el derrocamiento del gobierno, acusado de comunismo debido …

Contrastes En La Migración Internacional De Trabajadores Agrícolas Purhépechas, José Roberto González Morales

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Esta investigación documenta la emergente migración de los trabajadores agrícolas purhépechasde la comunidad indígena de Comachuén, municipio de Nahuatzen, Michoacán, México, que año tras año acuden al estado de Nueva York a través de la visa H2A. En el texto se contrasta la migración de los trabajadores purhépechas en México y en Estados Unidos,es decir, las causas, efectos e impactos económicos, sociales y culturales que está teniendo la migración por contrato en Comachuén. La observación participante como migrante contratado H2A, me permitió vivir y sentir la dureza del trabajo agrícola en el field, además de conocer, describir y analizar las …

Buscando Eela Chil Vatz En El Tiichajil Tenam: El Concepto Del Buen Vivir En El Pensamiento Maya Ixil, Monika Banach, Elena Brito Herrera

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

A través de un acercamiento a los conceptos ancestrales del tiichajil (buen vivir) y eel achil vatz (igualdad, balance) se analiza la utilización de la epistemología Ixil en el trabajo de las mujeres indígenas dentro de organizaciones de base, con el propósito de cambiar su realidad presente. En el contexto del aumento de la violencia de género, extractivismo y los efectos del cambio climático, estas prácticas cuestionan las nociones occidentales acerca del bienestar, y se buscan y recuperan propuestas más sostenibles. Se resalta que, entre diferentes ideas sobre el bienestar, en la cosmovisión Ixil se incluye tanto seres humanos como …

́ ́¿Por Qué Alguien Se Iría?": Desarrollo, Sobreendeudamiento Y Migración En Guatemala., Lauren Heidbrink, Giovanni Batz, Celeste Sánchez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

En las dos décadas pasadas, los encargados de desarrollar políticas han expresado un optimismo considerable sobre la capacidad del desarrollo internacional para frenar la migración transnacional; sin embargo, hay una escasez de investigación que analice cómo y bajo qué condiciones las intervenciones del desarrollo pueden impactar las decisiones de migrar. Siguiendo un enfoque de estudio de caso en la comunidad Maya-K’iche’ de Almolonga, este artículo examina las prácticas y significados divergentes de “desarrollo” y su impacto en las aspiraciones y los resultados migratorios de las familias indígenas en Guatemala. Las autoridades gubernamentales y los expertos en desarrollo internacional exaltan a …

Roots Of Justice: Historical Truth And Reconciliation In Lincoln And Nebraska, Veronica Nohemi Duran, Crystal Dunning, Kathleen A. Johnson, Paul Olson

Truth and Reconciliation History Project

A bibliography of resources about the history in Nebraska of Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Recent Refugees

We hope that these five bibliographies will prove fruitful in helping us to understand what our history has been, where we have gone astray, and what we can do to help bring about reconciliation in our community and in our state.

The discovery of what has happened in Nebraska in the last hundred and seventy years is not an easy task, but it is our goal in putting together this bibliography to begin that task. By putting together a picture …

Skin Worlds: Black And Indigenous Science Fiction Theorizing Since The 1970s, Lou Cornum

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation unfolds along two trajectories, the first following from an ascendant interest in minoritarian traditions in speculative and science fiction and the second following the reiterative conversations across Black and Indigenous Studies. Science fiction theorizing is introduced as a frame for thinking these two trajectories together, with science fiction texts by authors Nalo Hopkinson, Octavia Butler, Gerald Vizenor, Leslie Marmon Silko and Samuel Delany providing a paraliterary mode of imagining the planetary from which to understand the interconnected processes of settler colonialism and trans-Atlantic slavery. Science Fiction theorizing across these texts disrupts notions of linear progressive time, human/alien boundaries, …

A Decolonial Middle School Social Studies Curriculum: 19th Century U.S. Westward Colonization, Leah Chatterji

Master's Projects and Capstones

Social Studies education throughout the United States sustains settler futurity, white supremacy, and coloniality, as it rarely engages with Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) hxstories and structural violence. For middle schoolers, this is especially troublesome as social justice pedagogies are minimal for this demographic. To shift this, this field project offers an 8^th grade decolonial Social Studies curriculum on 19^th century U.S. Westward colonization; this topic was intentionally chosen as it is an opportunity to disrupt settler epistemologies. It centers: Land; relationality; and collective liberation. It complements the California unit 8.8 standards, yet different grades, subjects, …

3rd Place Contest Entry: Sovereignty, Statehood, And Subjugation: Native Hawaiian And Japanese American Discourse Over Hawaiian Statehood, Nicole Saito

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Nicole Saito's submission for the 2021 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won first place. It contains her essay on using library resources, a three-page sample of her research project on the consequences that Japanese American advocacy for Hawaiian statehood had on Native Hawaiians, and her works cited list.

Nicole is a junior at Chapman University, majoring in Political Science, History, and Economics. Her faculty mentor is Dr. Robert Slayton.