Abya Yala (from the Kuna language: ‘Abiayala’, meaning “mature land”) is a neologism used by some indigenous peoples of the Americas to refer to the American continent. The term is used by some indigenous organisations, institutions, and movements as a symbol of identity and respect for the land one inhabits. The increasing usage of the term can be viewed in the context of decolonization, as it serves to create an understanding that “land and discourse, territorio y palabra, cannot be disjointed” and a geography in which a struggle for sovereignty and resistance occurs on an everyday basis for Indigenous communities.
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