The Emergence of the Discource of 'Indigenous Peoples' and the Reified Concept of 'Culture': A Case of Guatemala

Abstract

This paper explores the way in which the notion of 'indigenous peoples' is created in the transnational context and is adopted in a local context such as Guatemala. I utilize discourse analysis with post-structural perspectives to look at how social categories are created and deployed through textualization. In Guatemala, in 1995 the convention concerning indigenous peoples' rights passed. With the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Guatemala now sees the expansion of Pan-Mayan movement whose main aim is to unite diverse Mayan indigenous groups. I argue that the discourses of indigeneity is politicized, as is in any other countries where indigenous movements are taking place. In Quatemala, one of the ways in which the discourse of indigeneity is articulated is the use of a particular concept of 'culture'. The reified concept of 'culture' is closely connected to the category of indigenous peoples, as is found in academic, activist, and political discourses. Once produced, the text fixes the meaning of notions such as 'indigenous peoples' or 'culure'