Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2026
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Liberal Studies
Advisor
Irina Carlota Silber
Subject Categories
Art and Design | Art Practice | Contemporary Art | Cultural History | Fashion Design | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts | Holocaust and Genocide Studies | Indigenous Studies | Latin American History | Latin American Languages and Societies | Latina/o Studies | Legal Theory | Oral History | Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Tourism
Keywords
Guatemala, Cultural appropriation, Cultural genocide, Indigenous epistemologies, tourism, Mayan textiles, Fashion/textile history
Abstract
For years, there has been a legacy of the appropriation of Mayan textiles by Western designers, stylists, and tourists. Since the CIA-backed coup in 1954, which resulted in civil war and genocide of Maya peoples, scholars, academics, tourists, and missionaries have participated in continued resource extraction of Mayan traditional textiles. As a result, in 2016 the Movimiento Nacional de Tejedoras: Ruchajixik ri qana’ojbäl introduced a new bill in Guatemala’s Constitutional Court to have their collective intellectual property rights recognized under Guatemalan law in order to battle the constant co-option of their works for profit. And though the decision to rectify these wrongdoings by the Guatemalan government is now bound by congressional law, that has not stopped the continued disenfranchisement and cultural theft of Mayan textiles. With the growth of tourism in Guatemala, it is time to initiate conversations that illuminate the parallels between traditional resource extraction and state-sponsored tourist initiatives that tokenize Maya people. This paper will examine how the misuse of Mayan textiles informs ongoing anti-Indigenous sentiment and how cultural appropriation, spurred by neoliberal tourism, are connected to the genocidal continuum.
Recommended Citation
Loggans, Regan, "La Segunda Piel: The Fight for Indigenous Textiles in Post-Genocide Guatemala" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6648
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Contemporary Art Commons, Cultural History Commons, Fashion Design Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Holocaust and Genocide Studies Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Latin American History Commons, Latin American Languages and Societies Commons, Latina/o Studies Commons, Legal Theory Commons, Oral History Commons, Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Tourism Commons
