The Peace Epistemologies of the National Coordination of Indigenous Women in Mexico

The book dismantles prevalent misconceptions surrounding Indigenous peoples’ epistemologies on peace, arguing that the peace epistemologies which Indigenous peoples have built do not correspond to the past but are changing, living theories created and recreated through praxis. By examining the knowledge that members of the National Coordination of Indigenous Women (CONAMI) have built through their collective struggle in favor of Indigenous self-determination, this work illustrates how Indigenous women play a central role in revitalizing the worldviews of their peoples and fostering social change.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Keys for Understanding CONAMI'S Contribution to Peacebuilding Chapter 1 Participants Political Genealogies Chapter 2. Methodological Routes with my Compañeras Chapter 3 Politicization of Indigenous Women's Identities Chapter 4. Reclaiming the Right to Live Without Spiritual Violence. Chapter 5. Enriching the Struggle of Indigenous Peoples for their Collective Rights Final Remarks: A Continuous Process of Collective Reflection

About the Author :
Alaide Vences Estudillo is postdoctoral fellow at the Sociological Research Institute of the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca.

Review :
Drawing on detailed interviews with her protagonists and informed by various peace and conflict frameworks, Vences Estudillo demonstrates how Indigenous women fashioned their shared resistance to oppressive relations and structures into equitable practices and catalyzed social change through the “vernacularization of peace knowledges.” Highlighting the struggles, setbacks, and triumphs of Indigenous women, this ethnographically rich, theoretically nuanced, and empirically grounded book is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn from people spending their life’s energy making the world a better place. Positioning themselves at the intersection of decolonial epistemology, community feminism, and land defense, Vences Estudillo and the women leaders of CONAMI demonstrate the importance of collective action and intergenerational dialogue in forging a common political project for the achievement of a life free of violence and the recognition of the self-determination of Mexico's indigenous peoples. The Epistemologies of Peace of the National Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Women of Mexico illustrates the diversity of CONAMI's praxis and political thought in a supportive, respectful, courageous, persistent, and deeply reflective manner. The Peace Epistemologies of the National Coordination of Indigenous Women in Mexico provides an excellent piece of original analysis about how indigenous women in Mexico engage in peacemaking. Relying on extensive participatory action research, the author, Vences Estudillo, accompanied the National Coordination of Indigenous Women and its involvement in peacemaking and conflict resolution. Her decolonial analysis breaks the silences and marginalization that indigenous women are facing. It contrasts indigenous knowledge production about peacemaking and conflict resolution with dominant Eurocentric approaches. This excellent analysis is a must read for anyone interested feminist, intersectional, and decolonial approaches to peace and conflict. The Peace Epistemologies of the National Coordination of Indigenous Women in Mexico is a necessary book, which brings us closer to an urgent issue in these times of multiple violences: the construction of an integral peace with justice and dignity. It is a text that challenges us in many ways: theoretically, politically, and methodologically, inviting us to destabilize our certainties about peace, feminist activism, and academic research.