El Camino de los Pueblos Maya a Oregon / The Journey of Mayan Communities in Oregon

By Caty Lucas

January 30, 2026

Over the past fifty years, hundreds of thousands of people of Maya descent have come to the United States, driven by genocide and economic deprivation. Some of them now live in Oregon. The size of the Maya population is hard to estimate, because it is so diverse: the Maya peoples comprise communities across Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras, who speak dozens of distinct languages. In this video, by Oregon Humanities Community Storytelling Fellow Caty Lucas, several Mayan Oregonians share their stories and why they came to the US.

Content warning: this documentary contains explicit descriptions of war and violent acts.

Caty Lucas is a Maya Chuj writer, mother, and first-generation college graduate. She is a 2025 Oregon Humanities Community Storytelling Fellow. 

Tags

Immigration, Video, Indigenous, Community Storytelling Fellowship

Comments

1 comments have been posted.

Thank you all for this extraordinary storytelling about the Mayan cultures, what happened in Guatemala (with full support of US), educational realities and aspirations of people forced to migrate from their homelands. Hearing Indigenous languages, people speaking about love and grief and community building in the face of violence then and now, is inspiring and instructive. I salute you.

Susan Banyas | January 2026 | Astoria

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Related Events

Screening: El Camino de los Pueblos Maya a Oregon / The Journey of Mayan Communities in Oregon

Join filmmakers Caty Lucas and filmmakers Elizabeth Lucas-Lucas for a screening of their new documentary "El Camino de los Pueblos Maya a Oregon," followed by a Q&A.

Over the past fifty years, hundreds of thousands of people of Maya descent have come to the United States, driven by genocide and economic deprivation. Some of them now live in Oregon. The size of the Maya population is hard to estimate, because it is so diverse: the Maya peoples comprise communities across Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras, who speak dozens of distinct languages. In this video, by Oregon Humanities Community Storytelling Fellow Caty Lucas, several Mayan Oregonians share their stories and why they came to the US.