Indigeneity in Context—Evolving Maya Ch’orti’ Notions of Cultural Identity: A Qualitative Study From 1993 to 2019

Abstract

The Maya Ch’orti’ people are Indigenous to the border regions of Honduras and Guatemala. For a great number of years, they have faced structural racism and discrimination combined with continued land dispossession. In the contexts of colonization and the creation of the modern Honduran state, any identification with Indigenous groups has generally had negative connotations. Since the advent of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Discourses (IPRD), however, more communities have actively aligned with the Maya Ch’orti’ people. In our investigation of the ways in which cultural identity and belonging to a Maya Ch’orti’ community have shifted and evolved over time, we analyzed a total of 45 interview transcripts across three time points (1990s: n = 15, 2003–2004: n = 15, and 2018–2019: n = 15) using thematic analysis and a cross–data set analysis. Five major themes were developed: “Our land,” “In the past, we were oppressed and ashamed,” “Difficult present life: We are still oppressed,” “Maya Ch’orti’ revitalization and empowerment,” and “Being Indigenous.” As we compared these themes across our time points, it became apparent that notions of cultural identity have evolved in the Maya Ch’orti’ community from a negative appraisal to a positive, empowered, and confident notion. Our findings are being discussed in connection to the context of the IPRD and Indigenous peoples in other countries.