question: What do the Maya in Guatemala and the Nasa and Guambiano peoples of Colombia have in common? answer: Their struggle to attain status in societies still bearing the marks of Spanish colonialism is deeply tied to their struggle to reaffirm the nature of their "indigenous identity", and is in turn linked to the interaction of Spanish and their native languages paragraph: Indigenous Revitalization Movements of Latin America: The Rediscovery of Language and Identity Humans, in the process of defining themselves, look to immediately recognizable factors in order to differentiate themselves from others. This process leads to the development of what can be broadly termed culture: a group of people joined by characteristics, traits, and beliefs comes to view themselves as sharing a distinct identity, discernible from that of those "outside" them, those who do not belong. Naturally this can be signaled by any number of things - clothing, food, lifestyle choices. One of the most dominant and easily noted factors is language. The command of a language, while not affording guaranteed access to the community which speaks it, is often the key to gaining entry. In turn communal identity can be formed around a language; it is used as the focal point around which the group gathers. Therefore when considering the indigenous revitalization movements which began in 20th century Latin America, the impact of those indigenous languages on those movements and the nature of the identity of the peoples themselves is key. Language plays a complex and integral role in the development and redefinition of an identity, particularly when that identity has been oppressed and subsumed by a dominant other for as long as that of the indigenous peoples in Latin America has. In particular I will examine two divergent yet remarkably parallel cases, that of the Maya in Guatemala and the Nasa and Guambiano peoples of Colombia. Their struggle to attain status in societies still bearing the marks of Spanish colonialism is deeply tied to their struggle to reaffirm the nature of their "indigenous identity", and is in turn linked to the interaction of Spanish and their native languages. 