This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways... Show more This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways in which 20th- and 21st-century globalization, labor migration and state politics of indigenism have influenced the way the game is represented and used in political discourse, both by the state and by the players itself. Show less