Lessons from Abiayala: A Conversation on Indigenous Thought in Academia

Join us for a conversation between three Indigenous Studies scholars exploring what it means to call upon Indigenous thought to develop theoretical frameworks that better suit specific contexts and issues, while honouring Indigenous peoples. Concepts such as Abiayala (a Guna concept widely used to refer to the Americas), ts’íib (a word found in most Maya languages that refers to recorded knowledge), tsikbal (a dialogue through time and space for Yucatec Maya People), and xocom balumil (a woven design and conceptualization of the cardinal directions for Tsotsil Maya People) will ground the discussion. Questions about academic extractivism, appropriation, decolonization, reciprocity, and best practices will be addressed.

Paul M. Worley is a Fulbright scholar and professor of Spanish and Chair of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Appalachia State University. He co-authored Unwriting Maya Literature: Ts’íib as Recorded Knowledge (2019) with Rita M. Palacios and is also the author of Telling and Being Told: Storytelling and Cultural Control in Contemporary Yucatec Maya Literatures (2013).

Sue Haglund (PhD Political Science, University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa; Adjunct Faculty, the Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa) is a Dule poet and scholar of the Gunayala Nation in Panama. Her research includes Indigenous Studies, Native American literature and Latin American Studies. Her creative and academic work has been published in numerous collections.

Rita M. Palacios is a Visiting Scholar at Massey College and a Professor of Spanish in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Conestoga College. She co-authored Unwriting Maya Literature: Ts’íib as Recorded Knowledge (2019) with Paul M. Worley. Her current project proposes Abiayala-specific Indigenous research methodologies in the humanities.