Andrew Gorvetzian Awarded Grant from the Spicer Foundation
Departmental News
Posted: May 30, 2023 - 12:00pm
Andrew Gorvetzian, an anthropology PhD student focusing on ethnology at the University of New Mexico, has been awarded a $750 Mini-Grant to support Garifuna language revitalization classes in Orinoco and Bluefields, Nicaragua. The Garifuna are an Afro-Indigenous group with communities on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, and Guatamala, with sizable diaspora populations in New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. Gorvetzian wrote, “It is an honor to receive support from the Spicer Foundation for ongoing Garifuna language classes on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. For generations, the Garifuna communities of Nicaragua have persisted in the defense and celebration of their unique culture, history, and traditions despite the challenges of migration, racial discrimination, and geographic isolation from other Garifuna communities in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize. These factors—among others—have contributed to a significant reduction of the use of the Garifuna language over the past forty years in Nicaragua. I have had the honor of collaborating with Garifuna communities in Nicaragua since 2016, and this grant from the Spicer Foundation offers vital support for a grassroots, community project led by Garifuna language teacher Vernan Ramos to deliver language classes to community members in the hope that Garifuna is spoken for generations to come.”