Indigenous People's Day
by Brenda Betz-Stoltz
Today we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day by paying tribute to our friends in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala. We honor our friends from the Weavers’ Committee and their Tzutujil Maya culture that continues despite a tumultuous history around Lago Atitlán. Their ancestors survived the arrival of the conquistadors in 1524, a 36 year civil war, an army base operating from their village, disappearances, torture and murder of their Indigenous family members by paramilitary death squads.
The civil war in Guatemala lasted from 1960 to 1996, and more than 200,000 people were killed – 83% of them were Mayan. The war began as left wing guerilla groups started battling government military forces. In the early 80’s, an army base was established in Santiago Atitlán under the premise to protect the villagers from the guerillas (a resistance group to fight the Guatemalan Army’s ‘death squads’). Instead of protection, the murders, robberies and disappearances heightened, the paramilitary death squads became more prevalent. In a surprise attack the army massacred 17 farmers in their fields near a coffee plantation in 1981. In the same year, Father Stanley at the colonial church was murdered in the rectory by paramilitary ‘death squads’ because of his sympathies to the Mayan people.
On December 1, 1990, two drunken soldiers killed an innocent villager. News spread quickly and over 2,000 unarmed Tzutujil Maya showed up near the army base waving white flags and asking for an end to the violence. The army opened fire on the gathering of villagers killing 14 people, three of them children, and injuring 21. There was international outrage about the massacre. Over 20,000 Maya signed a petition to expel the army, and the army left its base. Santiago Atitlán was the first Maya village to expel the army. A Peace Park now stands at the location of the massacre – a reminder of the courage and bravery that it took to stand up to the army. In the face of injustice, murder, and torture, the Tzutujil Maya continue to honor their ancestors and strive for a better life for their families. Educating their children has been a top priority for them. So today, on Indigenous People’s Day, F2F honors them, their culture, and their perseverance. You can pay tribute to our friends by buying our coffee, giving to Covid-19 relief, or donating to scholarships.
