Indigenous Studies Commons^™

Muele Las Palabras Con Canela: How Queer Xicanx Writing Practices Reclaim Indigeneity, Karen Zurita

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

My thesis project is a multi-genre story in itself, dedicated to my community. By using Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza and Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel’s Decolonize Your Diet, I emphasize the importance of Xicanx writing needing to reflect their Indigenous identity by intertwining the spiritual and physical in their writing practices. In the process of creating this thesis project I was able to heal my own writing and have it shapeshift into creating a summer poetry class for high school students in the Humboldt County Area. In all, I found these writing practices to be crucial …

Untangling The Evolution Of Body-Part Terminology In Pano: Conservative Versus Innovative Traits In Body-Part Lexicalization, Roberto Zariquiey, Javier Vera, Simon J. Greenhill, Pilar Valenzuela, Russell J. Gray, Johann-Mattis List

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

Although language-family specific traits which do not find direct counterparts outside a given language family are usually ignored in quantitative phylogenetic studies, scholars have made ample use of them in qualitative investigations, revealing their potential for identifying language relationships. An example of such a family specific trait are body-part expressions in Pano languages, which are often lexicalized forms, composed of bound roots (also called body-part prefixes in the literature) and non-productive derivative morphemes (called here body-part formatives). We use various statistical methods to demonstrate that whereas body-part roots are generally conservative, body-part formatives exhibit diverse chronologies and are often the …

Viaje Por Las Ruinas De Una Antigua Civilización En Yucatán: Alfred Tozzer Y Chichén, 1902, José Luis Escalona Victoria

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

El trabajo muestra las condiciones para visitar las ruinas de una ciudad antigua ubicadas en la finca Chichén, en la península de Yucatán, en 1902. A pesar de que en esa época se habían ampliado las posibilidades de trasladar productos y personas y de visitar la península, gracias al transporte de vapor por agua y tierra, aún faltarían otros cambios (servicios turísticos) para modificar la forma de pasear por lo que se volvería uno de los sitios arqueológicos más visitados en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Las notas de campo de uno de los antropólogos que estaban en ese …

Prince Jaguar, Ismael Briceño Mukul

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

“Prince Jaguar” is an original poem by Ismael Briceño Mukul, a well-known Maya poet and scholar. This poem in English has been translated from the Yucatec Maya that also appears in this issue of Maya America.

Bàalam Ajaw, Ismael Briceño Mukul

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Bàalam Ajaw es un poema original de Ismael Briceño Mukul in his Yucatec Maya language. Se presentó en español y en inglés en otro lugar de esta revista bajo el título Príncipe Jaguar y Prince Jaguar.

Ritualidad Y Nuevas Tecnologías Entre Los Mayas: El Hetzmek En La Migración, El Trabajo Y El Turismo, Cristina Oehmichan Bazán, Consepción Escalona Hernández

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

En las últimas décadas las comunidades mayas de la península de Yucatán, México, han estado involucradas en procesos de cambio derivados de la globalización y la transformación económica y social. La migración, la incorporación masiva al trabajo asalariado y la expansión turística en sus territorios son algunos de los procesos más visibles y materiales del cambio. Hay, sin embargo, otras prácticas que tienen que ver tanto con los imaginarios y con la relación con nuevos actantes (Latour, 2005). Las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) constituyen un actante que vasculariza el cambio sociocultural, cuya importancia se expresa …

Introducción: Turismo En Las Tierras De Los Mayas, Cristina Oehmichen

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Spanish Introductory Note

A Rebel Territory Behind The Tourist Scene: Negotiating National Belonging And Indigeneity In Quintana Roo, Mélissa Elbez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history of Quintana Roo teaches us that tourism and migration can be forces of nationalization. This article invites us to revisit the history of the southeast Yucatan peninsula, in order to understand the mechanisms that presided over its inclusion into the Mexican nation and the logic of the resistance movement that was opposed to it. Furthermore, this article delves into the ritual practices, social organization and territoriality inherited from the Cast War, that are kept alive by the rebels’ descendants (Cruzoob), unbeknownst to the gaze of …

Las Vías De La Mayanización: Turismo, Tren Maya Y Representaciones De La Mayanidad En La Península De Yucatán, Marco Almeida Poot, Samuel Jouault, Yassir Rodríguez Martínez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

En este trabajo se analiza cómo diversos actores sociales, autoidentificados o no como mayas, activan variadas representaciones de la mayanidad ante el Proyecto Tren Maya en su fase de construcción, tanto para gobernar la diversidad y promover el desarrollo, como para obtener beneficios económicos principalmente de actividades vinculadas al turismo. Con este propósito, se ofrece la ruta conceptual que nos permite hablar de representaciones de la mayanidad. Posteriormente, se exponen tres ejemplos que visibilizan los tipos de representación, así como las estrategias concretas de los actores ante el Proyecto Tren Maya.

Brave Storytelling: Diasporic Indigenous Students, Vulnerability, And The Arts, Luis Javier Pentón Herrera

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

In this article, I explore how vulnerability is imposed on diasporic Indigenous students in U.S. classrooms and how, through the arts, language and literacy educators can remove these vulnerabilities. For this, I weave elements of storytelling to first introduce Mariela and diasporic Indigenous students. Then, I share two examples of how my diasporic Indigenous students used poetry and drawing in our high school English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classroom to overcome vulnerabilities imposed on them by our school system. For clarification, throughout this manuscript, I use the term diasporic Indigenous students to describe Indigenous students who migrated to …

Introduction: Tourism In The Lands Of The Maya, Cristina Oehmichen

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

English Introductory Note

Conjuro De Las Nueve Palabras, Donny Limber De Atocha Brito May

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Conjuro de las Nueve Palabras es un poema original de Donny Limber de Atocha Brito May. Este poema en español ha sido traducido del maya yucateco que también aparece en este número de América Maya.

Biographies/Biografías, Cristina Oehmichen, Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Author Biographies

Príncipe Jaguar, Ismael Briceño Mukul

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

"Príncipe Jaguar" es un poema original de Ismael Briceño Mukul. Este poema en español ha sido traducido del maya yucateco que también aparece en este número de América Maya.

Incantation Of The Nine Words, Donny Limber De Atocha Brito May

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Incantation of the Nine Words is an original poem by Donny Limber Brito May. This poem in Yucatec Maya and in Spanish also appears in this issue of Maya America.

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 Future And Thriving Of Bipoc Communities: A Time To Act Macroconvening, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Portland State University

Global Diversity and Inclusion Publications and Presentations

This is the overview of the "Time to Act Macroconvening," an event bringing together the BIPOC community on November 4, 2022. The macroconvening was shaped by five affinity-based convenings that were held from June to November 2022. Each engagement was unique, but centered around discussions of the future of thriving and joy of BIPOC communities in and around Portland, and what role PSU has in bringing this future to bear.

Main downloadable file:
Affinity Convenings Thematic Overview

Additional files:

• Event graphic
• Overview article by Christina Rojas, "PSU Brings Together BIPOC Community Groups to Envision a Thriving Future."
• Pictorial Summary of …

Complete Issue: Volume 4 Issue 1

Maya America: Journal of Essays, Commentary, and Analysis

Maya America presents this special issue as a stand-alone primary document to further an understanding of the life experiences of Guatemalan adoptees and to encourage the inclusion of irregular adoption as part of the Maya diaspora and as an integral part of the migration of peoples from Central America. Indeed, it is striking to see Maya heritage adoptees, raised in various parts of the world, add to the concept of "Maya America.”

Formations Of The Mayan Diaspora In Guatemala And The Us: Land, Migration, And Linguistic Ideologies As The Markers Of Diasporic Separation., Daniel Antipov

Theses and Dissertations

This work examines the phenomenon of diaspora formation among the indigenous Guatemalan population as a major identity marker in the new Guatemalan immigrants in the US. This work provides: definition of diaspora, its historical frames, juxtaposition of the self and the Other, and separation and differentiation of the indigenous languages

The Forgotten Wayuu People, Laura Hoya Noel

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

This article focuses on the history of the Wayuu tribe and its relationship with the Spanish conquistadors and later the Colombian government. It reviews the history to understand why the tribe is ignored and disregarded by the Colombian government. The article tries to find a solution to the gap between non-Wayuu Colombians and the Wayuu community through the contact theory. It aims to connect these two groups to more interactions which would cause for tolerance to develop according to the contact theory.

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 …

Indigenous Mexicans In New York City: Immigrant Integration, Language Use, And Identity Formation, Leslie A. Martino-Velez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As indigenous Mexican immigrants migrate, settle, and raise families in the United States, parents, particularly women, and their children increasingly have contact with community institutions, such as schools. Despite their growing numbers in U.S. schools, indigenous children, youth, and their parents are often invisible due to their ethnolinguistic identities and undocumented status. Understanding what parents do to help their children is essential to understanding the first generation's integration and their children, the second generation.

To better understand this, I conducted an ethnographic research study at a bilingual Head Start program in New York City, in East Harlem, where many undocumented …

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 …

Boundary As Borderland: Mexico City’S Central Plaza And The Politics Of Presence, Re'al Christian

Theses and Dissertations

In the postcolonial era, the land surrounding national borders—the borderland—has inherited a specific identity and relationship with those who navigate it. While national borderlands are oft discussed amid conversations on globalization, land disputes, and war, the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries saw the new establishment of borderlands from within in the form of segregative boundaries that purported to separate Indigenous and European peoples. This thesis concerns the manifestation of the borderland as not only an external entity, but an internal one as well. Using Mexico City, the center of the Spanish colonial empire, as …