{"id":18982,"date":"2017-03-31T09:58:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-31T13:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=18982"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:35:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:35:53","slug":"maya-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=18982","title":{"rendered":"Helping students explore being Maya"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Adonis
Adonis Tello-Chavez (above) of Morganton\u2019s Patton High School pores over records in Wilson Library. (photo by Kristen Chavez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fourteen high school students listened attentively as UNC anthropologist Gabrielle Vail invited them to examine letters, drawings, photos, diaries, codices, newspapers and other Maya materials from the Southern Historical Collection in Wilson Library.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart thinking about these materials in terms of \u2018how can I tell the story of Maya migration?\u2019\u201d Vail said. \u201cExplore them from a historical perspective, but also bring it into the present and think of a personal connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya from the Margins is a program that fosters cultural understanding among Maya youth on both sides of the border \u2014 Morganton, N.C., and Yucat\u00e1n, Mexico. Together, the students are exploring their indigenous identity through workshops, online discussions, archival research and visits to their respective countries, where they will meet face-to-face. At the capstone event this spring, both sets of students will develop research projects in English and Spanish that will be on public display.<\/p>\n

On April 13 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., visitors to UNC\u2019s Wilson Library Pleasants Family Assembly Room can enjoy the exchange exhibition \u201cRevitalizing Maya History and Heritage: My View from the Archives,\u201d curated by students from Morganton and Mexico.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The program is funded by a Museums Connect<\/a> grant, an initiative of the U.S. State Department\u2019s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the American Alliance of Museums. Partners include the Southern Historical Collection<\/a>, the UNC department of anthropology<\/a> and Research Laboratories of Archaeology<\/a>, and the State Archives of Yucat\u00e1n. Vail is project coordinator of Maya from the Margins, which builds on longtime cultural heritage work<\/a> by Kenan Eminent Professor of Anthropology Patricia McAnany.<\/p>\n

\"Students
Students receive research instructions at Wilson Library from Maya from the Margins project coordinator Gabrielle Vail. (photo by Kristen Chavez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf you look at the changing texture of the South demographically \u2026 these students are grappling with all kinds of things, including \u2018how can I embrace my past and where I find myself today?\u2019\u201d said Bryan Giemza, director of the SHC, which houses the papers and materials of George E. Stuart (Ph.D. anthropology \u201975), a scholar of the ancient Maya whose archaeological career with the National Geographic Society spanned nearly four decades. \u201cThey are very insightful; their interpretations are really sophisticated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patton High School senior Eduardo Mendoza\u2019s parents traveled from Guatemala to Morganton, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in 1998 looking for better job opportunities. (2010 U.S. Census data indicates a Latino population of 16.4 percent in Morganton, about double the state average.)<\/p>\n

Mendoza said he does a lot of online research in school, so he appreciates the exposure to these rare documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can tell the professors are very passionate about what they do, and I like that I have the opportunity to ask them questions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also been a great experience for two UNC undergraduate students who serve as mentors. Jacqueline L\u00f3pez is a senior pursuing a double major in Latin American studies and public policy. She spent six weeks in Yucat\u00e1n in 2015 and has been working with the students on learning Yucatec Maya. She will accompany them on their study abroad trip.<\/p>\n

\"Maya
Maya from the Margins builds on longtime cultural heritage work by Kenan Professor of Anthropology Patricia McAnany. (photo by Kristen Chavez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t start developing the tools to explore my own culture until I arrived at UNC,\u201d said L\u00f3pez, a first-generation college student. \u201cTo help them do that earlier in their careers has been so rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program has spawned other collaborations that extend beyond the core partners and the campus, McAnany said. Other UNC faculty members have conducted workshops with the students at their high school in Morganton, such as associate professor of romance studies Emilio del Valle Escalante, who speaks K\u2019iche\u2019 Maya. The city of Asheville is interested because Valladolid, where the Yucat\u00e1n students live, is a sister city. Connections have been made with a Maya archaeologist who teaches at UNC-Asheville. High school teachers, church groups and others have pledged their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very happy to be working on a project that is building bridges with our neighbors to the south rather than walls,\u201d McAnany said.<\/p>\n

By Kim Weaver Spurr \u201988<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fourteen high school students listened attentively as UNC anthropologist Gabrielle Vail invited them to examine letters, drawings, photos, diaries, codices, newspapers and other Maya materials from the Southern Historical Collection in Wilson 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