Children possess national and ethnic identity, whether or not we want them to, and often that identity includes elements of their own devising.

Since independence, the Belizean government has sought to promote a national Belizean identity by recognizing the cultures of its multiple ethnic groups, and including all these groups in its social studies curriculum. Thus, in Belize, ethnicity and nationalism are inextricably intertwined.

In my research in Punta Gorda, Belize in 1993-94, I dealt directly with schools and children in an attempt to understand how ethnic and nationalist identities are taught and then incorporated by children in practice. This book relates those findings.

Keywords: anthropology, central america, caribbean, belize, children, education, schools, ethnicity, nationalism, nation-building