(Above: James Anaya, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights (left), and Mayan leader Francisco Mateo Rocael, flanked by thousands of Mayan mining resisters at Zaculeu, the Mam Maya ruins outside Huehuetenango.)
HUEHUETENANGO, Guatemala – They arrived in pickup trucks, in school buses and on foot, resplendent in the vibrant purples and reds, blues and yellows of their native highlands. They came by the thousands to witness a day that would mark history for their people: a visit from James Anaya, the world’s highest-ranking indigenous advocate, U.N. Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Rights.
“There are some who believe the Mayans are gone, and all that remains are these ruins,” a man dressed in white was speaking from the stage. “We are here to tell them: we are alive, and we are hear to bring these monuments back to life.”
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