Scope and Contents

The papers of Chris Gjording primarily document his research and activities in Central America, particularly his research on the Guaymíes and the Cerro Colorado copper mining project in Chiriquí, Panama. Materials pertaining to Panama include Gjording's field notes (portions of which are missing due to severe insect infestation); photographs; reference materials he collected; and his writings, which include his articles, dissertation, and drafts of his dissertation revised for publication. In addition to his work in Panama are his field notes and photographs from his research on campesino communities in Guatemala and El Salvador. Gjording also kept subject files on Latin American countries, focusing on the poor and oppressed and the social and political climate. His writings on those subjects are present in the collection and include a draft of his unpublished paper on peasant uprising in El Salvador and issues of Informacciónes, the Spanish-language newsletter that Gjording published and wrote articles for in Honduras. The collection also contains correspondence and notes relating to his visits to the Guatemalan Indian refugee camps in Los Lirios and Maya Balam in Quintana Roo in Mexico. In addition, the collection contains some of his correspondence with his mentor Ricardo Falla, a Guatemalan Jesuit priest and anthropologist, whom he refers to as "RF" in his notes. The collection also contains computer disks with chapters in Spanish from Falla's book on Ixcán, possibly (1992).

Additional materials in the collection are copies of Gjording's curriculum vitae; his student papers; and his college and graduate school diplomas. In addition, the collection contains a letter approving Gjording's advancement to the diaconate and priesthood and his decree of dismissal from the Society of Jesus in 1991.

Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Arrangement

Arranged into 7 series: (1) Correspondence, 1985-91; (2) Panama, 1977-91; (3) Latin America, 1977-90; (4) Journals, 1977-1982, 1988-1989; (5) Personal Files, 1966-1991; (6) Photographs, 1976-89; (7) Computer Disks

Biographical Note

Chris Gjording was an anthropologist and Jesuit priest, best known for his research on the Guaymí people of Panama and how they were affected by a transnational copper mining project on their land.

Gjording was born on January 12, 1943 in Los Angeles, California. In 1960 he entered a Jesuit seminary in Sheridan, Oregon and obtained his A.B. in philosophy from Spring Hill College in 1966. After earning his M.A. in philosophy from Tulane University (1967) and his M.Div. in theology from the Toronto School of Theology (1973), he was ordained as a Jesuit priest in Spokane, Washington. He taught philosophy and liberation theology at Gonzaga University (1973-75) before continuing his education at the New School for Social Research, where he received his M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1985) in social and cultural anthropology.

As both a priest and anthropologist, he felt that "field research essentially involves interpersonal relationships; and [he had] no category for engaging in such relationships with nothing in view as a potential benefit for the other." (Gjording's journal, January 11, 1978) Influenced by liberation theology, Gjording consequently focused his research on the rural poor of Central America during a period of social and political turmoil.

As a graduate student in 1977, Gjording spent the summer conducting ethnographic fieldwork among campesino communities in Chinacá, Guatemala and in Chirilagua, San Miguel, El Salvador. He returned to Central America the following year to work in Chiriquí, Panama with Centro de Estudios y Acción Social (CEASPA), a Jesuit-sponsored organization, as the anthropologist on an interdisciplinary team studying the Cerro Colorado copper mining project and its impact on Panama. Gjording's research focused on the Guaymí people, who lived on the land where the mining project was to occur. His research became the subject of his dissertation, "The Cerro Colorado Copper Project: Panama, Multinational Corporations and the Guaymi Indians." A revised version of the dissertation was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1991 as .

Gjording left Panama in 1982 but returned to Central America after completing his dissertation in 1985 to serve as codirector of Equipo de Reflexión, Investigación y Comunicación (E.R.I.C.), a Jesuit organization in El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. As part of his responsibilities, he published and wrote many of the articles for , a bimonthly newsletter in Spanish on the social, political, and economic situation in Honduras. In addition, he wrote articles for the Panamanian magazine ; due to the political climate in Panama, he wrote some of the articles under the pseudonym "Enrique Lobo," a name he chose in honor of the anthropologist Eric Wolf. From 1987 to 1989, he made several trips to the Guatemalan refugee camps in Quintana Roo, Mexico. He conducted informal research on the background and situation of the refugees and taught workshops that provided them guidance on whether to return to Guatemala or stay in Mexico.

Gjording returned to the United States in 1989 on a sabbatical from Central America. He left the priesthood in 1991 and obtained a position teaching anthropology and peace studies at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Gjording died of lung cancer on July 5, 1993 at the age of 50.

Gjording, Chris. 1978. [Daily Journal]. Chris Gjording Papers. National Anthropological Archives.

Roseberry, William. 1993. Chris N. Gjording. Anthropology Newsletter. 34(7): 44.