Background

During the Classic period of Maya civilization, the highland region of what is today western Honduras acted as a frontier zone between the Classic Maya cities such as Tikal to the north and the indigenous non-Maya societies living to the south and east. The site of Copan was the most revered and powerful city in the area. So much so that it is one of only a handful of Maya cities of monumental proportions within the national borders of Honduras.
Unlike Guatemala, Maya peoples are one of several distinct indigenous groups in Honduras. The Chorti’ Maya reside in the department of Copan which surrounds the ancient Maya city of the same name. In the colonial period Chorti’-speaking peoples inhabited the land surrounding the Classic period site but have since been forced further out into the highlands by wealthy landowners and entrepreneurs who have developed Copan and the neighboring colonial town of Copan Ruinas into a world-class tourist destination. Recent conditions in the colonial and independent periods of Honduran history have divorced the Chorti’ population from their maternal language, traditions and spirituality. While local leaders are attempting to rescue these cultural trappings, the recovery process is slow.

While Copan Ruinas collects millions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of tourists per year, those living in outlying villages have been almost completely disenfranchised from the economic benefits of tourism at the site of Copan. This inequality has led Chorti’ Maya leaders (via the organization CONIMCCH) to “take-over” the site twice, demanding restitution of stolen land and, secondarily, a portion of the profits earned by the government from lofty entrance fees at the archaeological park. In 2005, the government agreed to distribute a percentage of the entrance fees collected at Copan to the Chorti’ Maya (as well as to the municipality of Copan Ruinas).