Indigenous rights in Latin America

This chapter provides an overview of key issues in indigenous rights in Latin America, beginning with a survey of the region since colonization beginning in the late 1400s. Case studies of Guatemala and Bolivia, focusing on the past half-century and especially on the growing strength of indigenous rights movements since the 1990s, provide a sense of the diversity of experiences in the region. Genocide, discrimination, and poverty are examined, as well as struggles for language rights, greater political voice, and around land and resources.