The Mayans among Us is an ethnographic examination of women's labors, women's lives, and women's efforts for survival. Authors Ann L. Sittig and Martha Florinda González organized their study into five chronological chapters that follow Mayan women from their homes in Guatemala to the meatpacking industry in Nebraska. The book is an interdisciplinary blend of history, anthropology, and sociology that straddles academic analysis and personal reflection. In the words of the Sittig and González, The Mayans among Us works to “share Mayan women's stories and their contribution to U.S. society” (xviii).
Sittig and González's partnership sets the tone for this book. The pair met in 2005 when Sittig, a professor of Spanish, asked González, a Mayan immigrant from Guatemala and Mayan community leader in Nebraska, if she would be willing to share her story through oral history. González agreed and later introduced Sittig to other women in the community who...
