Children in Crisis: Maya Identity in Guatemalan Children’s Drawings

Abstract

This article examines the context and content of 15 drawings created in the early 1990s by Guatemalan children who survived government-led systemic violence against their Maya Tz’utujil community. Titled Children in Crisis, all 15 drawings collected by Albert Hurwitz depict similar stories of loss and violence. Considering the relevance of producing research that recognizes stories of marginalized groups, this article engages in making visible the narratives of Maya Tz’utujil children; the events that triggered the stories of violence, loss, and resilience rendered in these drawings; and the functions these drawings served in the aftermath of systemic violence. Created as part of posttraumatic stress therapy, these drawings are, as a close examination suggests, a reaffirmation of Maya identity as an expression of collective resistance.