History

      The Maya Indigenous population was profoundly affected by the colonization of
Latin America by European powers.  Throughout history, the native Maya have had to
struggle to retain there culture and identity.  Most anthropological studies on Maya
civilization points out the strong sense of tradition and culture within Mayan communities. 
During most of the twentieth century Maya movements and activism was centered mainly
around  local community entities.  Historically, the Maya population was characterized by a heterogeneous region of centralized and decentralized states with fluid
boundaries, developing throughout the lowland Yucatan Peninsula and in Guatemala. 
Colonization in the 16th century resulted in a fragmentation of Mayan states and power
influences.  Thus, the Maya’s cultural loyalties, languages, and identity became decidedly
localized.  This trend remained until the latter part of the twentieth century.
        Fragmentation of Maya society along class, language, geographical, and cultural
lines served as a barrier to a more encompassing and widespread Mayan movement. 
In order to break through this barrier to achieve a more powerful and unified Mayan
nationalist front, young Maya intellectuals became more politically engaged and
active in the 1970s and 1980s.  Many issues were addressed including cultural and class
identity and equality, and most importantly, Mayan education.  Throughout the 1980s, the
issue of non-assimilist education became a more pressing issue as Maya studies institutes
and other rural educational programs were implemented with the goal of the continuation of
Maya language, heritage and culture.  Towards the late 1980s, “the Maya movement has
focused on institution building around language issues, cultural revitalization, and collective rights, with the goal of reconfiguring the Guatemalan state and national culture.
(Warren, 1998)” Thus, one of the main goals of the Maya movement was to enable indigenous people to have more influence and rights in the greater Latin American state.
        The 1990s brought many monumental changes in the history of Mayan Nationalism.  This period marks a turning point in the Maya movement and a consolidation of many groups within Maya political participation.  The “500 Years of Resistance” campaigns during 1991 and 1992 served to bring together Maya organization that had been previously working separately.  Then, in late 1994 some 150 Maya associations joined to form the Coordination of Maya Peoples’ Organizations of Guatemala, or, COPMAGUA (Sén, 1999).  This coalition served to introduce Maya proposals to the peace negotiation occurring in Guatemala after years of guerrilla warfare.  In March of 1995 the Accord on Indigenous Rights and identity was signed to make recommendations o the Constitution in that state.  Some of the reforms which COPMAGUA was asking for include:

---Recognition of Guatemala’s indigenous people as descendants of an ancient people
who speak diverse historically related languages and share distinctive culture and
cosmology.
---Recognition of the legitimacy of using indigenous languages in schools, social services,
official communications, and court proceedings. 
---Recognition and protection of Maya spirituality and spiritual guides and the conservation of ceremonial centers and archaeological sites as indigenous heritage that should involve Mayas in their administration.
---Commitment to education reform, specifically the integration of Maya materials and
educational methods, the involvement of families in all areas of education, and the
promotion of intercultural programs for all children.
---Indigenous representation in administrative bodies on all levels, the
regionalization of government structures, and the recognition of localized customary law and
community decision-making powers in education, health, and economic development.
---Recognition of communal lands and the reform of the legal system so indigenous
interests are adequately represented in the adjudication of land disputes.  The
distribution of state lands to communities with insufficient land.
                                           (Warren, 1998).

These calls for reform represent the basic platform of the emerging united front
for Mayan Nationalism.
        The historical reasoning for the late twentieth century of large-scale,
organized Mayan Nationalist movement is incredibly complex.  Although progress is often
slow and comes in small increments, the Maya movement has already made concrete
contributions to a more inclusive democracy through its educational programs.  The history of
Mayan Nationalism is complicated, but the main achievement this movement has seen is the mass consolidation of the Maya movement and its increased involvement all areas of life, from the local level, to the state level, and more recently on an international scale with the help of Mayan nationalist such as the famed Rigoberta Menchú.  As we enter the twenty-first century, more calls for basic human rights, autonomy, land reform, and equality can be expected from the increasingly powerful Mayan Nationalism movement.