Power of Attorney in Oaxaca, Mexico – Native People, Legal Culture, and Social Networks

View of the Rincón Zapoteco (“Zapotec Corner” region of the Sierra Norte) from San Juan Yaée, Villa Alta. Credit: Julius Kniffki — View of the Rincón Zapoteco (“Zapotec Corner” region of the Sierra Norte) from San Juan Yaée, Villa Alta.
Credit: Julius Kniffki

18th century Letter of Attorney, Villa Alta, Oaxaca. Credit: AHJO Villa Alta Civil Leg. 8 Exp 2.06 — 18th century Letter of Attorney, Villa Alta, Oaxaca.
Credit: AHJO Villa Alta Civil Leg. 8 Exp 2.06

Bell, San Juan Yaée, Villa Alta. Credit: Julius Kniffki — Bell, San Juan Yaée, Villa Alta.
Credit: Julius Kniffki

Power of Attorney constructs a geography of indigenous legal culture through digital maps and visualizations.

This project:

Maps relationships among people, places, and courts created by a common legal procedure: the granting of power of attorney.

Analyzes socio-spatial networks and flows of knowledge and power created by power of attorney.

Contributes to interdisciplinary scholarship that shows how native people interacted with the law across geographical expanses and differences of language and culture.