Rigoberta Menchú

Rigoberta Menchú, born in Chimel[?], Guatemala in 1959, is a recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, given "in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples"

Her prize is based in part on her 1987 autobiography I, Rigoberta Menchú. Detractors claim that the book contains many fabrications. Her defenders claim that any dishonesties are offset by the overarching importance of her tale of U.S.-funded Guatemalan suppression of the Indian people.

In 1991 she participated in the ongoing preparation by the UN of a declaration of the rights of indigenous people. She is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.