American Indian Culture and Research Journal

INTRODUCTION A century ago (1892), the commemoration of Columbus's arrival on this continent was celebrated with eloquent speeches. The discourse exalted the West's triumph over the native populations, who were thought to be destined for destruction. The discourses of commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary made reference to De Tocqueville's claim that the Indians "occupied America without possessing it, since they lived by the chase," and that the natives seemed "to have been placed amid the riches of the new world to enjoy them for a season, and then surrender them." At that time, it was difficult for the native peoples of Latin America to present organized resistance to that celebration, since they were the subjects of severe assimilation projects by the nation-states developing in that region. Now, the elitist celebration of the quincentenary is meeting the severe criticism of both native and normative people who recognize the political implications of "celebrating" an event that resulted in five hundred years of efforts to dismantle native cultures and expropriate native lands. In other words, the native peoples of this continent have not remained silent in the face of this bourgeois "celebration." Instead, they have raised their voices to condemn the West's arrogant concealment of its history of appropriation and genocide. To "celebrate," the United States has contributed $170 million, while Spain has provided $500 million, one million for each year of hardship for indigenous people since 1492. The quincentenary, then, has become a contested event (producing an indigenous internationalism) that has prompted the indignation of those who recognize the unequal social relations forged five hundred years ago by the Europeans. In this debate, Mayans are taking part, not as mute archaeological relics of the past, not as the "vanquished," but as dynamic actors in this historical moment of political consciousness and struggle for reaffirmation of native identities.