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Gold mining on Mayan-Mam territory

Social unravelling, discord and distress in the Western highlands of Guatemala

Bibliographic Data

ID4589575
AuthorsC S Caxaj (0000-0002-5393-6406, Okanagan University College), Hélène Berman (Western University), C Varcoe (0000-0001-9090-2793, University of British Columbia), Susan L Ray (Western University), Jean-Paul Restoulec (University of Toronto)
Year2014
Volume111
Pages50-57
Publication date2014-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Science & Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0277-9536 • E-ISSN: 1873-5347
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.036
PMID24747378
OpenAlexW1968319860
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited54

This article examines the influence of a large-scale mining operation on the health of the community of San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala. An anti-colonial narrative approach informed by participatory action research principles was employed. Data collection included focus groups and one-on-one interviews from August to November of 2011. Over this period, we interviewed 15 Mam Mayan men and 41 women (n = 56) between the ages of 18 and 64 including health care workers, educators, spiritual leaders, agricultural workers and previous mine employees from 13 villages within the municipality. Participants' accounts pointed to community health experiences of social unravelling characterized by overlapping narratives of a climate of fear and discord and embodied expressions of distress. These findings reveal the interconnected mechanisms by which local mining operations influenced the health of the community, specifically, by introducing new threats to the safety and mental wellbeing of local residents

Archaeology · Citizen journalism · Colonialism · Community-based participatory research · Distress · Ethnology · Focus group · Geography · Mental health · Narrative · Participatory action research · Political science · Psychiatry · Settlement (finance · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights · Law · Mining and Resource Management · Psychology

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Unique citing works17
Citations per year1,55
Citation span2015 - 2026 (12)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 16
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