Agents of the Times: The Role of Intercultural Bilingual Education and the Post-Peace Accords Generation in the Maya Movement

The Maya Movement grew out of ethnic conflict in the 1980s to preserve an identity in danger of extinction. As a new generation grows up in a post-civil war era in Guatemala, the explicit shift to promote Mayan pride provides... [ view full abstract ]

The Maya Movement grew out of ethnic conflict in the 1980s to preserve an identity in danger of extinction. As a new generation grows up in a post-civil war era in Guatemala, the explicit shift to promote Mayan pride provides a positive environment for indigenous identity reclamation through their languages. The focus on the younger generation born after the 1996 Guatemalan Peace Accords reflects the need to include indigenous language instruction in all education levels. The inclusion of previously threatened Mayan languages in an institution that for so long rejected it pushes the state to respectfully recognize these languages, and therefore the culture and ethnicity attached to it, as part of the greater national identity. Using qualitative data collection such as surveys and interviews with Guatemalan bilingual education teachers and supporters, the role of intercultural bilingual education (IBE) is analyzed with respect to positive language attitudes towards Mayan languages and Mayan identity reclamation for the post-Peace Accords generation.