Indigenous Maya Knowledge and the Possibility of Decolonizing Education in Guatemala

In the thesis statement, Indigenous Maya Knowledge and the Possibility of Decolonizing Education in Guatemala by Vivian Michelle Jiménez Estrada, she focuses on the Maya people in Guatemala and their efforts for decolonization. As stated, Maya peoples in Guatemala continue to practice their Indigenous knowledge in spite of the violence experienced since the Spanish invasion in 1524. From 1991 until 1996, the state and civil society signed a series of Peace Accords that promised to better meet the needs of the Maya, Xinka, Garífuna and non-Indigenous groups living there.

Vivian Michelle Jiménez Estrada research investigates the philosophy and customs of Maya Indigenous knowledge (MIK) in broadly defined educational contexts through the stories of 17 diverse Maya professional women and men involved in educational reform that currently live and work in Guatemala City. The findings reveal that MIK promotes social change and healing within and outside institutionalized educational spaces and argues that academia needs to make room for Indigenous theorizing mainly in areas of education, gender, knowledge production, and nation building.

The researcher relies on Maya concepts and units of analyses (Jun Winaq’) guided by an Indigenous research methodology (Tree of Life) to conduct informal and in-depth interviews that lasted 2 to 4 hours. The researcher's analysis is founded by her own experience as an Indigenous person, her observations and participation in two Maya organizations in 2007 and a review of secondary literature in situ. The study contributes to a general understanding of contemporary Maya peoples and knowledge, and describes the theoretical validity of the Maya concept of Jun Winaq’.

In the thesis the researcher argues that this concept seeks to heal individuals and a society to strengthen the Maya and all peoples. Throughout the dissertation the researcher highlights the value of Indigenous knowledge and voices as parts of a political process that has the potential to decolonize mainstream education. The researcher ends with a graphic illustration of the elements in Maya Indigenous education and discusses future research for building a political agenda based on self-determination and healing relevant to Indigenous struggles globally.

Indigenous Maya Knowledge and the Possibility of Decolonizing Education in Guatemala by Vivian Michelle Jiménez Estrada, 2012.

https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/34068/1/JimenezEstrada_Vivian_M_201211_PhD_Thesis.pdf