Mexica Movement [Schwaller]

[David Becraft]

Thank you for commenting on my paper.
I agree with you that identities can in the future become modified and 
reappropriated, this in a sense is what the Mexica Movement is doing.  It is 
taking people who have lost a knowledge of their indigenous identity 
[obviously as a result of colonialism] and reintroducing them to an identity 
that can rebuild their sense of worth as an indigenous person.  Many do not 
know whether they are Otomangue or Maya, or even Yuto-Nawa, yet people are 
adopting not only Mexica as an identity, but others as well.  Those who are 
adopting or "reappropriating" other indigenous identities,[Yaki, Raramuri, 
Pore'pecha, etc] many times do so as a result of the oral tradition or 
geographical location as to what indigenous group they "probably" descend 
from.
I disagree with you and JOSE VASCONCELOS though, Mestizo [latin for mixed] 
is a sociopolitical construct used by the elite to dominate the Indigenous 
population into "taking pride" in their "Spanish blood" while "taking shame" 
in their "Indigenous blood."  Europeans are also a Mixed [Mestizo] people, 
yet they are not viewed as a "Cosmic Race".  The race concept itself is a 
social construction with roots in early "American colonialsim".  Considering 
that "Mestizo" means mixed, a child of a Mixtec and Maya parents would also 
be considered Mestizo/Mixed.  Yet, under the sociopolitical construction of 
biological differences, this is never a matter of debate.
The majority of Indigenous people have not had Spanish "inter-marriage" or 
Spanish blood "raped" into them in the last 200 + years, hence [if one wants 
to follow a biological concept of race], so-called Mestizo's are not 
actually "mixed" anymore.

Thank you for your critique, I will take your considerations into account in 
the future, as well as Frances Karttunen's.

Sincerely,

Pancho Becraft


>From: ROBERT SCHWALLER <rcs218 at PSU.EDU>
>Reply-To: Nahua language and culture discussion <NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU>
>To: NAHUAT-L at LISTS.UMN.EDU
>Subject: Mexica Movement
>Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 11:48:20 -0400
>
>I would have to agree with Dr. Karttunen. While I agree with your paper's
>assertion that identity can be both imposed on an individual or a group or
>constructed independently. The problem I see with the paper is that it 
>fails to
>recognize that even identities which may have been created by dominant 
>elites
>may in later times become modified and reapproproiated. The concept of a
>mestizo identity is very interesting in this regard. During the colonial 
>period
>it was created by the Spanish to describe individuals of mixed Iberian and
>indigenous descent. It did serve to distinguish these individuals from 
>their
>indigenous relatives. However, by the early 20th century, the intellectual
>elite of Mexico had successfully reimagined the Mexican national identity 
>as
>being mestizo. Was this the same as the earlier Spanish colonial label? No,
>obviously not, the major goal of this new mestizo identity was the 
>valorization
>of both European white culture AND native indigenous culture. Jose 
>Vasconcelos
>argued that Mexicans were "la raza cosmica" because of this unique blending 
>of
>culture and heritage.  Was this new mestizo identity hegemonic? Yes, the
>intellectual and political elite of Mexico, many of mostly European 
>descent,
>chose to construct this identity in order to counter largely European
>assertions that as a nation of mixed-race individuals Mexico was inherantly
>weak. This new formulation of the Mexican mestizo nation has been rather
>successful in insuring the continued survival of indigenous culture within 
>the
>nation, because without its connection to indigenous groups, their culture, 
>and
>their past there could be no indigenous element. For example INAH, 
>Instituto
>Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, focuses far more of its archaeological
>time on indigenous sites than on colonial ones because of the importance 
>that
>indigenous culture plays for the continuation of a mestizo identity. What 
>your
>paper fails to realize in this is that the modern Mexican mestizo identity 
>is
>in fact a construction intended to counter European racism and 
>discrimination.
>While certainly it does not leave much room for individuals of entirely
>indigenous descent it does acknowledge the cultural inheritance of 
>indigenous
>groups and has helped to improve their position within the Mexican nation 
>and
>consciousness. As anyother identity it is mutable an will change. Your 
>paper
>needs to recognize that even imposed identities may be reappropriated 
>overtime.
>
>Rob
>
>Robert Schwaller
>
>Ph.D. Candidate
>Penn State - Dept. of History
>105 Weaver Bldg.
>University Park PA, 16801