KULCHA Symposium Presenter, Ms. Adela Pederson Vallejos: To’one Masehualoon NGO in northern Belize

About the Presentation

Thematic Session: Community Heritage Initiatives - September 3rd, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM (UTC-6:00)

An introduction into the formation and the importance of a vibrant Yucatec Maya cultural preservation group in northern Belize. To’one Masehualoon NGO is a cultural preservational group in northern Belize which grew out of the idea that the people of Belize who are of Yucatec Maya decent are slowly losing their self of identity and that  the demise of a vibrant culture filled with ancestral splendor and knowledge is slowly reaching extinction. The purpose of the group is to restore and preserve the pride of being of Yucatec Maya ancestry. This is accomplished by preserving all areas of the culture such as language, spirituality, attire, cuisine, folklore, and dance and by also being engaged in community outreach. The surprising discovery has been the negative effects that colonialism has had on the Yucatec Maya culture in northern Belize  and the lack of governmental support the people experience due to no having protection of their Indigenous rights as is chartered on a global level.  It is vital to continue this focus because with the event of Covid 19 we have lost many of our elders who are the vital link to the new generation who hold in their hands the preservation of an entire culture group. In returning to the group their sense of identity and pride of ancestry the culture will then gain the revitalization and preservation it rightly deserves.