Maya Women's Religious and Political Activism in Colonial Chiapas (1650-1850)

FAIN: FT-291194-23

Brianna Noelle Leavitt-Alcántara
University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH 45220-2872)

Research leading to a book about Maya women’s religious and political leadership between 1650 and 1850 in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico.

While scholars and the public exhibit an ongoing fascination with ancient Maya culture, more recent Maya history has garnered far less attention, hampering efforts to address endemic cycles of poverty, violence, and refugee crises. A particularly glaring gap in our understanding of Maya history and contemporary experience is the critical role that women have played in defending cultural autonomy and ensuring their community’s well-being and survival. This project uncovers a hidden history of Maya women’s religious, cultural, and political activism in colonial Chiapas, countering the damaging tendency, often shared by scholars, governments, and aid agencies, to ignore and marginalize Native American women throughout the hemisphere, and the critical roles they play in their community’s health and welfare. I am applying for an NEH Summer Stipend to spend Summer 2023 completing the final portion of archival research for the book project.