This analysis considers the complex ways that attempts to create a liberal, democratic Guatemalan national identity through policy-driven curricular reform were taken up, engaged with, contested and transformed at the local level by Indigenous social studies teachers. While post-conflict education initiatives aimed at civic reconstruction proliferate globally, this investigation draws on qualitative data collected in a variety of school settings to provide insight into the complexities of moving from policy to practice, highlighting the significant part played by social studies teachers in this process.