Identification of Indigenous People by Mexican Boys and Girls

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the identification of indigenous people by a group of boys and girls of mixed race, and the identification as such of six boys and girls who speak an indigenous language. The study was carried out at an evening public school with a culturally and linguistically diverse student population. The methodology used for this study was critical ethnography and critical action-research, and participant observation and interviews were used as data collection methods. The data were analyzed based on feminist and post structural theoretical concepts that conceive identity as multiple, dynamic and subject to a social and historical context. This paper presents the current situation of the indigenous peoples and languages of Oaxaca, describes the context and methodology of the investigation, and addresses the theories concerning identity that were used as a conceptual framework. Finally, the children’s identification as indigenous people is addressed, together with the discussion of the results and the conclusion of the investigation.