Hondura's President Embraces Legend of the White City & Monkey God, Indigenous People Furious

Honduras president, Juan Orlando Hernández, has embraced the legendary lost city of the Monkey God. However, this, along with the new expedition made by archaeologists to the Honduran jungle, have sparked "skepticism and fury" among the indigenous people.

According to a report with The Guardian, the country's indigenous people have called President Hernandez's embrace of the legendary lost city "offensive, discriminatory and racist."

Just last week, the Honduran president flew down by helicopter to the ancient site. The elusive ancient city was the stuff of legends for centuries, and was first visited by the National Geographic Team last year. Hernández displayed the ancient relics and told reporters that the country was to protect its "national patrimony" for reasons including both tourism and preserving its history.

Chris Fisher, who is the leader of the National Geographic team, told the publication that the ancient site is now referred to as the "City of the White Jaguar." He also made the correction that the region is referred to as the "Ciudad Blanca," or "White City." The archaeologist also said that international papers tended to be misinformed and use the names interchangeably.

However, there are many of those who doubt the recent discovery of the site, and have dismissed the entire thing as an "enterprise" on the part of Hernandez and his government. Another archaeologist, Geoffrey McCafferty, said that while the ancient finds are "terrific," it will not "rewrite history."

Furthermore, indigenous groups from Honduras were angered by Hernandez and his promises of profits and jobs, which were not delivered to them. Masta, which is an organization of the indigenous Miskito, has called the entire expedition a sham, including any of the recent discoveries of the ancient cities, reports The Telegraph.

"We completely disagree with the arbitrary and unilateral decision of the government to explore, excavate and illegally transport archaeological pieces," a part of the open letter read.

The open letter also says that the Misikito "demanded respect" for the names of their ancestors, and the sacred site for their people.

Other ancient people who are seeking justice over the recent archaeological diggings are the Pech, who according to anthropologist Chris Begley and geographer Mark Bonta, have an enormous amount of heritage waiting to be reclaimed.

The Pech have reportedly lost vast amounts of their territory to drug traffickers, deforestation and illegal gold mining.

Bonta said that tourism is a big thing for these people and the country, as it could draw in money. The geographer fears that should the past be an indication of the country's future, he says that little will change.