What is Indigenous literature?

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In Latin America, many Indigenous authors write and publish bilingually, in their Native language and in Spanish. In this context, literature is a powerful tool that lifts up silenced voices and brings repressed forms of expression back to life. It communicates the emotions, thoughts, critiques, familial roots, and experiences of different communities. Each Indigenous nation has their own language and culture, and they write on the basis of their own aesthetic and discursive traditions. Where the Western concept of literature presupposes a division between writing and visual art, many Indigenous cultures perceive them as two interconnected modes of expression. For instance, in Mayan languages the word ts’íib denotes not only alphabetic writing but also any visual representation of a concept. In this sense, weaving is an art and embroidery on clothing is another representation of the cultural expression and identity of each community. Through literature these communities continue resisting oppression and modern effects of colonization. Writing in Indigenous languages is in and of itself a political act.