Knowledge Bank

My mother's side of the family is from a relatively closed cultural and religious group of Mennonites who lived in Paraguay and later Bolivia. Because Mennonites in this region are not culturally or ethnically Bolivian, they are seen as foreigners by the Bolivian public, even though the majority of Mennonites in Bolivia (including my family) have/had Bolivian citizenship. This thesis explores how living in Bolivia and Paraguay was meaningful for my family and how it affected they way that they self-identify. I argue that my family's Bolivian identity extends beyond their citizenship and includes their memories, stories, language, and practices.