In the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, a large indigenous population lives in rural communities, many of which retain traditional forms of governance. In 1996, some 350 women of these communities formed a weavers’ cooperative, which they called Jolom Mayaetik. Their goal was to join together to market textiles of high quality in both new and ancient designs. Weaving Chiapas offers a rare view of the daily lives, memories, and hopes of these rural Maya women as they strive to retain their ancient customs while adapting to a rapidly changing world. Originally published in Spanish in 2007, this book captures firsthand the voices of these Maya artisans, whose experiences, including the challenges of living in a highly patriarchal culture, often escape the attention of mainstream scholarship. Based on interviews conducted with members of the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative, the accounts gathered in this volume provide an intimate view of women’s life in the Chiapas highlands, known locally as Los Altos. We learn about their experiences of childhood, marriage, and childbirth; about subsistence farming and food traditions; and about the particular styles of clothing and even hairstyles that vary from community to community. Restricted by custom from engaging in public occupations, Los Altos women are responsible for managing their households and caring for domestic animals. But many of them long for broader opportunities, and the Jolom Mayaetik cooperative represents a bold effort by its members to assume control over and build a wider market for their own work. This English-language edition features color photographs—published here for the first time—depicting many of the individual women and their stunning textiles. A new preface, chapter introductions, and a scholarly afterword frame the women’s narratives and place their accounts within cultural and historical context.

Most recent books about Chiapas, Mexico, focus on political conflicts and the indigenous movement for human rights at the macro level. None has explored those conflicts and struggles in-depth through an individual woman's life story. The Journey of a Tzotzil-Maya Woman of Chiapas, Mexico now offers that perspective in one woman's own words. Anthropologist Christine Eber met "Antonia" in 1986 and has followed her life's journey ever since. In this book, they recount Antonia's life story and also reflect on challenges and rewards they have experienced in working together, offering insight into the role of friendship in anthropological research, as well as into the transnational movement of solidarity with the indigenous people of Chiapas that began with the Zapatista uprising. Antonia was born in 1962 in San Pedro Chenalhó, a Tzotzil-Maya township in highland Chiapas. Her story begins with memories of childhood and progresses to young adulthood, when Antonia began working with women in her community to form weaving cooperatives while also becoming involved in the Word of God, the progressive Catholic movement known elsewhere as Liberation Theology. In 1994, as a wife and mother of six children, she joined a support base for the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Recounting her experiences in these three interwoven movements, Antonia offers a vivid and nuanced picture of working for social justice while trying to remain true to her people's traditions.

Weaving Transnational Solidarity from the Catskills to Chiapas and Beyond analyzes the grassroots, economic justice work (1998-2009) of three groups-two Mexican organizations, Jolom Mayaetik, Mayan women's weaving cooperative, and K’inal Antzetik, NGO in the highlands of Chiapas, and an informal, international solidarity network. The book provides scholar-activist, ethnographic case study data which contributes to understanding collective organization, indigenous rights, and the solidarity process within transnational social movements and critically reflects on Fair Trade, health, and education solidarity efforts as well as the class, ethnic, and gender dimensions of neoliberal globalization. Central themes include solidarity, human rights, and social justice. Indigenous women’s voices are featured in the book as powerful in transnational justice organizing-in the global south and north. Critical Global Studies, vol. 2

With new markets opening up for goods produced by artisans from all parts of the world, craft commercialization and craft industries have become key components of local economies. Now with the emergence of the Fair Trade movement and public opposition to sweatshop labor, many people are demanding that artisans in third world countries not be exploited for their labor. Bringing together case studies from the Americas and Asia, this timely collection of articles addresses the interplay among subsistence activities, craft production, and the global market. It contributes to current debates on economic inequality by offering practical examples of the political, economic, and cultural issues surrounding artisan production as an expressive vehicle of ethnic and gender identity. Striking a balance between economic and ethnographic analyses, the contributors observe what has worked and what hasn't in a range of craft cooperatives and show how some artisans have expanded their entrepreneurial role by marketing crafts in addition to producing them. Among the topics discussed are the accommodation of craft traditions in the global market, fair trade issues, and the emerging role of the anthropologist as a proactive agent for artisan groups. As the gap between rich and poor widens, the fate of subsistence economies seems more and more uncertain. The artisans in this book show that people can and do employ innovative opportunities to develop their talents, and in the process strengthen their ethnic identities. Contents Introduction: Facing the Challenges of Artisan Production in the Global Market / Kimberly M. Grimes and B. Lynne Milgram Democratizing International Production and Trade: North American Alternative Trading Organizations / Kimberly M. Grimes Building on Local Strengths: Nepalese Fair Trade Textiles / Rachel MacHenry "That They Be in the Middle, Lord": Women, Weaving, and Cultural Survival in Highland Chiapas, Mexico / Christine E. Eber The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women / Martha Lynd Of Women, Hope, and Angels: Fair Trade and Artisan Production in a Squatter Settlement in Guatemala City / Brenda Rosenbaum Reorganizing Textile Production for the Global Market: Women’s Craft Cooperatives in Ifugao, Upland Philippines / B. Lynne Milgram Textile Production in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Complexities of the Global Market for Handmade Crafts / Jeffrey H. Cohen "Part-Time for Pin Money": The Legacy of Navajo Women’s Craft Production / Kathy M’Closkey The Hard Sell: Anthropologists as Brokers of Crafts in the Global Marketplace / Andrew Causey Postscript: To Market, To Market / June Nash

In this volume, anthropologists, art historians, fiber artists, and technologists come together to explore the meanings, uses, and fabrication of textiles in Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Precolumbian times to the present. Originally published in 1991 by Garland Publishing, the book grew out of a 1987 symposium held in conjunction with the exhibit "Costume as Communication: Ethnographic Costumes and Textiles from Middle America and the Central Andes of South America" at the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, Brown University.

This book presents the concerns, visions and struggles of women in Chiapas, Mexico in the context of the uprising of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). The book is organized around three issues that have taken center state in women's recent struggles-structural violence and armed conflict; religion and empowerment and women's organizing. Also includes maps.

Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean offers a compelling introduction to the region by providing a series of ethnographic case studies that examine the most pressing issues communities are facing today. These case studies address key topics such as inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Black racism, resistance against extractive industries, migration and transnational families, revitalization of Indigenous languages, art and solidarity in the wake of political violence, resilience in the face of climate change, and recent social movements. Designed for courses in a variety of disciplines, this expansive volume is organized in thematic sections, with introductions that draw important connections between chapters. The first section provides essential background on ethnography, archaeology, and history, while chapters in the following sections center local perspectives, strategies, and voices. Each chapter ends with reflection and discussion questions, key concepts with definitions, and resources to explore further. Presenting a snapshot of life during the early decades of the twenty-first century, Ethnographic Insights on Latin America and the Caribbean illuminates the structural forces and human agency that are determining the future of the region and the world.

"For centuries, the Zinacantec Maya women of Mexico have woven and embroidered textiles that express their social and aesthetic values and embody their role as mothers and daughters. Boasting more than two hundred detailed photographs of Zinacantec textiles and their makers, this study provides a long-term examination of the cognitive and socialization processes involved in transmitting weaving knowledge across two generations. Author Patricia Marks Greenfield first visited the village of Nabenchauk in 1969 and 1970. Her return in 1991 and regular visits through 2003 enable her to combine a scholarly study of the impact of commercialization and globalization on textile design and sales, creativity, acculturation, and female socialization with poignant personal reflections on mother-daughter relationships, social change, and collaboration. Her collection of data and range of approaches make this book a contribution to studies of cognition and socialization, the life cycles of material culture, and the anthropology of the Maya. Weaving Generations Together will appeal to both the academic specialist and anyone who admires Maya weaving and culture."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved