SpacesofResistance:IndigenousMexicanMigrantsandthePoliticsofIdentity
Introduction
MigrationtotheUnitedStatesbyMexicannationalshasbecomeanincreasinglymultilingual andmulti-ethnicprocess,reflectingtherichethnicdiversityofMexicansociety,1 evenaspublic debatecontinuesoverthenation’smulti-ethniccharacterandIndigenousrightsagendaandtoa lesserextent,therightsofAfro-Mexicancommunities.2
Historically,mostMexicanmigrantssharedseveralbroadcharacteristics,suchasoriginating from Mestizo ruralcommunitiesinthecentral-westernregionsofthecountrylikeJalisco, Michoacan,andGuanajuato.3 However,inthelast40years,theMexicanmigrantpopulationhas diversifiedsignificantly—ethnically,socially,andgeographically—bothintheirplacesoforigin andtheirdestinations.OnesuchexampleistheAfro-Mexicanmigrationfromthe Costa Chica regiontoWinston-Salem,NorthCarolina,wheretobaccoproducersrecruitedforeignlaborers.4
IndigenousMexicanmigrationtotheUnitedStatesdatesbacktotheBraceroprogram (1942-1964),butmostIndigenousMexicansworkedincitiesorasfarmworkerswithinMexico untilthe1980s.5 OaxacanMixtecpeoplewereamongthefirstMexicanIndigenousimmigrants tosettleintheU.S.,havingpreviouslybeenmovedintonorthwestMexicoforagriculturalwork beforeeventuallycrossingtheborder.6 ThepopulationofIndigenousMexicansintheUnited Stateshassignificantlygrown,nowincludingmigrantsfromlesscommonlyemigratedplaces suchastheYucatanpeninsulaandtheSouthernmostpartofMexico:Chiapas.7 Theyhavenowas wellsettledintolesstraditionaldestinationslikeWisconsinandOregon.
Dominantnarrativesaboutrace,ethnicity,andnationalidentityintheUnitedStateshave complicatedtheindividualandcollectiveidentitiesofMexicanmigrants,particularlyMexican Indigenouspeople.ByframingMexicansasahomogenousethnicidentity,theUnitedStates erasesMexicanIndigenousidentity,replicatingaprocessmoreintentionallypursuedinMexico through Mestizaje. 8 Mestizaje asnationaldiscourseandstatemythologyfunctionsasatoolof state-buildingtopromoteassimilationandracialandculturalmixing.Thisframeworkreproduces itselfintheUnitedStatesaffectingtheIndigenousMexicanmigrantcommunityandtheiraccess toresources,organizing,andrecognition.
Thispaperexamineshowanationalorganization,UnidosUS,andgrassrootsorganizations ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo(CIELO)andMixtecoIndígenaCommunityOrganizing Project(MICOP)engagewithMexicanpeopleintheU.S.toeitherreinforceorchallenge structuresof Mestizaje andracialandethnicexclusion.Itdiscussesthedifferentwaysthese distinctorganizationsframeidentity,belonging,andadvocacyandseekstounderstandhow identitydynamicsofMexicanIndigenousimmigrantsunfoldwithinbroaderimmigrantspacesof resistanceandorganizing,astheyforgedistinctspacesoutsideofthemtoassert self-determinationandculturalrevitalizationintheformofsocialnetworksandcollective organizing.
Itfindsthatthepoliticsof Mestizaje arenotconfinedtoMexico,butthattheyaretransnational andreproducedininstitutionalorganizing,shapingtheconditionsofIndigenousMexican migrantsseekingtoprotectandprioritizetheirIndigenousidentitiesintheU.S.
MexicanIdentity:MestizoNarrativesvsIndigeneity
Everynationhasamythology Mexico’snationalidentityisdeeplyrootedintheideologyof Mestizaje,whichcelebratestheblendingofIndigenousandEuropeanheritageasthefoundingof themodernstateofMexico.However, Mestizaje hasacomplicatedhistoryasanideological constructandasociopoliticalproject.Itfunctionsasaunifyingforceofnationalidentity,while simultaneouslyservingasastatetoolofexclusionanderasure.
AlthoughlittleliteraturehasapproachedMexicothroughasettler-colonialframework,itis importanttoconsiderthat,inmanyways, Mestizaje andtheprojectof colonización,permanently changedIndigeneitywithinthenation.Joseph-Arthur,comtedeGobineau,aFrenchman regardedasoneofthemostsignificantproponentsofracialideologyinEuropeduringthe mid-19th century,hadaprofoundinfluenceonlate-centurysocialtheoryandstate-building.9 GobineuassertedthatnocivilizationcouldemergewithoutcooperationwiththeWhiterace,of whichhesaidthatotherraceswereaproductof“White,Black,andYellow.”10 Healsoindicated that,“Nationsflourishonlywhentheyareformedofhomogeneousracialelements;whenthey losethishomogeneity,theirdeclinebegins.”11
Mexicowasdeeplyinfluencedbytheseideologies.However,unliketheclaimsofAryansthat intermarriagewith lower races wouldbringaboutthedeclineoftheircivilization,12 Mexico developedanewimaginary: La Raza Cósmica, orthecosmicrace.JoséVasconcelos,the country’sfirsteducationsecretary,planted Mestizaje asanattempttothinkbeyondrace, promisingtheendofitthroughuniversalracialmixing.13 Thiswasadistortedlensof Mestizaje thatsuperficiallyembracedtheIndigenousother,whileservingthestate’spoliticalproject.The projectof colonización undertook Mestizaje topursuenationalcohesionandprovideasolution tothetensionsofMexico’sheterogeneoussocietythatpinnedurbanmodernizationand non-urbanIndigenouscultures.JoséVasconcelosandotherphilosophersofhistimewerenot advocatesofIndigeneityinitsmostautonomousandself-determiningforms:astateandits recognition.TheyinsteadsoughttoredefineMexico'snationalidentity
ThemythofMexicoasaMestizostateappropriatedIndigenouspeoples’culturalpatrimonyin ordertocoalescethenation.14 IndigeneitybecamethesoulandimageofMexicothroughits symbolsandtales,butIndigenouspeoplewereleftbehind.Today,theMexicanstatetreatsthe Indigenousasdead,celebratingtheirpastbutabandoningthosestillalive.Thecountry’s dominantgroup—the Criollos—ambitiontoremaininpowerandcontroloverthenation,sought tosituatethe Mestizo identityasafusionof Indigenas and Criollos.Butitwas Criollos’ occidental,colonialsourceofknowledge,Spanishlanguage,Catholicreligion,andLiberal ideologythatdominatedthe mestizo narrative.
Mestizaje istheerasureofIndigeneity,or desindigenidad. Mestizaje ignorestheIndigenous peoplewhofightfortheirlanguage,culture,andautonomy Thisprocesshasbeenongoingsince theinceptionofthenation-stateofMexico.Whilesomeofithasnaturallyoccurredthrough biologicalracialmixing, Mestizaje actsasapoliticalandculturalprocessofsettler-colonialism inMexico,findingitswayintonarrativesofbelongingandidentityinMexicanimmigrant organizingintheUnitedStates,whereitservesastransnationaltoolofnationalidentityand Indigenouserasure.
TheSphereofMexican&LatinoOrganizingintheUnitedStates:UnidosUSasaCase TheredefinedconceptofMexicannationalidentityas La Raza Cósmica and Mestizaje asa politicalproject,transcendedthenation'sborders,givingthecountryanditspeopleanew languageofrace.15 MexicanorganizationsintheUnitedStatesembracedthisframework, particularlyinthewakeoftheU.S.CivilRightsMovement.UnidosUS,thelargestHispaniccivil rightsorganizationintheU.S.,embracedthisnotionofMexico’snationalidentity.Thissection willexploreUnidosUS’relationshiptoidentityasithasevolvedfromitsinceptiontotoday, assessingtheirpoliticalpurposeandthesocialimplicationsofthesechangestoamultiethnic groupofpeople,butparticularlyIndigenousMexicanmigrants.
UnidosUS
UnidosUS wasfoundedin1986asthe Southwest Council,underscoringtheimportantrolethat Mexican-AmericanactivistshadinestablishinganinstitutionwhereMexicanscouldrallyand unifyunderasinglefront.16 In1972,theorganizationbroadeneditsnationalinfluencebymoving itsheadquarterstoWashington,D.C.,andrebrandingitselfasthe National Council of La Raza.17 However,itwasnotuntil2017thattheorganizationadopteditscurrentname, UnidosUS, markingashifttowardsunitingallLatinocommunitiesratherthanonlycenteringtheirworkon Mexicans.18
Throughitsnamechanges,UnidosUShasredefineditsidentitytoreflectthescopeofitswork, nationalinfluence,andgrowinganddiversemembership.Originallyestablishedtounite concernedMexicansatatimeofracialreckoningintheUnitedStates,ithassincebecomea criticalsourceofopportunityandadvocacyforallLatinos.
Muchlikethestate-buildingeffortsofMexicothatpromoted Mestizaje tocreatenational cohesion,the National Council of La Raza, initsformation,soughttounifyMexicansundera singlefrontintheUnitedStates.19 Thisvisioncanbemostclearlyseenintheorganization’s formername,whichreferences La Raza. This,adirectinfluenceofJoséVasconcelos’ Mestizo nationaldiscourse,trumpetstheracialspiritofMexico. 20 However,asinMexico,this Mestizo identityoftenexcludesIndigenouspeoplefromsocialandpoliticallifeandactivelyignorestheir righttoself-determination.
La Raza’smythologyisechoedinUnidosUS’language,identityproduction,andresource distribution.Theorganization’sself-toldhistoryomitstheethnicandlinguisticdiversityof MexicansandLatinos,failingtoacknowledgethepluralismofMexicansandLatinos.Instead, UnidosUShasproactively,throughtheyears,undertakenandembracedamorebroadenedand homogenizeddefinitionofMexicanandLatinoidentitieswithoutacknowledgingtheirnuances anddiversity Assuch,UnidosUshascontributedtotheracializationofLatinosashomogenous andcontributedtotheUnitedStates’violentsettler-colonialprojectofassimilation.Thiscanbe understoodasthetransnationaluseandeffectsof Mestizaje acrossborders,mergingdiverse identitiesintoasingularone.
ThenextstepinthecrossborderprocessofassimilationistomergetheLatinoidentityintothe UnitedStates’nationalidentityandnarrative,agoalpartiallyrealizedinUnidosUS’ Our History sectiontitled Story of an American Institution Thisisalsoseenintheinclusionofthe‘US’in theorganization’sname,emphasizingitsrecognitionasAmerican. 21 Theassimilationprocess
andtheexclusionofothersisfurtherevidentintheinaccessibilityoftheUnidosUSwebsitefor non-Spanishspeakers.Theorganization’swebsiteisinEnglish,alanguagemanypeoplecannot navigate.Theresourcesareinaccessibletolow-incomepeoplewithnoaccesstotheinternetand areevenlessaccommodatingtoIndigenouspeoplewhospeaklanguagesotherthanSpanish. ThislackoflinguisticvariationandIndigenousrepresentationispresentacrossUnidosUS’ website.Inthe Key Statistics section,theymentionthat“nearlyaquarterofHispanicsintheU.S. self-identifyasAfro-Latino.”22 But,theydonotacknowledgetheIndigeneityofLatinosnorthe presenceofpeopleintheUnitedStatesfromLatinAmericawhoidentifyasIndigenous.
AsearchontheUnidosUSwebsitefortheterms Indigenous and Indígena revealsastriking patternofassimilation:whiletheSpanishterm Indígena yieldednineresults,resultsforthe Englishterm Indigenous appearedsixty-threetimes.Thisdiscrepancyreflectsadeeper ideologicalpositioninginwhichIndigeneityisframedasahistoricalartifact,ratherthanlived identity UnidosUSinvokesIndigenousheritageincelebratoryterms,observingapreservedpast ratherthanacknowledgingthepresenceandstrugglesofIndigenouspeople.Thispositioningon IndigeneityrepresentsaformofnecropoliticsandnecropowertowardsIndigenouspeople.The conceptofnecropower,asdevelopedbyAchilleMbembe,referstothewaysstates—and,by extension,institutions—managepopulationsbydeterminingwhichlivesarerenderedvisibleand whicharemarginalizedorerased.23 Mesitzajeinthisframeworkoperatesasamechanismof control,organizingracialandethnicidentitiestoredefinenewiterationsofstatemythologythat sustainnationalandinstitutionalnarrativesofcohesion.UnidosUS,inhomogenizingidentity through Mestizaje,erasesIndigenouspeopleandrelegatestheIndigenousothertothepast.This social-politicalprojecthasmaterialconsequences,influencingpolicyadvocacy,resource allocation,andtherepresentationofIndigenousMexicansinpoliticalstruggles.
WhileUnidosUSoriginallyaimedtoserveapredominantlyhomogeneousgroupofMexican people,itsexpansiontoincludeothergroupsdidnotreflecttheirdistinctindividualand collectiveidentities.Rather,theirinclusionpromotedunityunderabroadandgeneralagenda. TheorganizationfurthercomplicatesIndigeneityandIndigenousidentitiesbyabsorbinga U.S.-centricracialframeworkthatacknowledgestheIndigenouspeoplesoftheUnitedStates, whileoverlookingthediversityandnuanceofidentitiesfromwithinitsowncommunities.By embracingcolonialandstate-buildingconstructsofracerootedinwhitenessand Mestizaje, UnidosUSalignsitselfwithsettler-imposednarrativesthatmarginalizeIndigenouspeople.
UnidosUSprimarilyresonateswiththeneedsandstrugglesof Mestizos andLatinos Thesebroad categorieserasethepoliticalrecognitionandautonomyofIndigenouspeople.OdiliaRomero,a ZapotecwomanandExecutiveDirectorofComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo(CIELO),24 eloquentlystatedthatmislabelingofIndigenouspeopleasLatino“leadstohumanrights violations,languageviolence,removalofourchildren,painandtrauma.”25 Latinidad,she said,“imposesitself,erasingourexistenceindataandappropriatesourculturaltraditionsand regaliaforprofit…butitdoesnotrecognizeourhumanityandrights.”26
CulturalPreservationandIdentity:IndigenousActivism&Space-making IndigenousMexicanmigrantsintheUnitedStateshaveestablishedspacesoutsideofbroader MexicanandLatinosocialandpoliticalorganizations.Thissectionprovidesanoverviewofthe organizationsComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo(CIELO)andMixtecoIndigenaCommunity
OrganizingProject(MICOP)thatpromoteprinciplesofself-determinationvisaviscultural revitalization,communitycare,andpoliticaladvocacy Theirstructure,rhetoric,andmission statementsareanalyzedtocontextualizeandsituatetheindividualandcollectiveidentitiesof IndigeneityastheyarenavigatedandnegotiatedintheUnitedStatesbyIndigenousMexican migrantswhoareforgingthesespaces.
ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo–CIELO
CIELOisanIndigenouswomen-led,intergenerationalorganizationdedicatedto“combatting racismtowardsIndigenouspeoplebybringingvisibilityandresourcestoIndigenousmigrant communities.”27 Foundedin2016byZapotecwomenOdiliaRomeroandJanetRamirez,CIELO operatesasaspaceofself-determinationforIndigenousmigrantshistoricallymarginalizedin broaderspacesofMexicanandLatinoadvocacy 28 Throughlanguageprograms,literature conferences,andartsinitiatives,CIELOfostersidentityformationoutsidestateandinstitutional boundariesthatsubordinatetheIndigenousother
Figure1:ZapotecwomenpartofCIELO,includingco-foundersOdiliaRomero&JanetRamirez.
CIELO’slanguagerevitalizationandculturalprogrammingcreatespacesforindigenousheritage andidentitytobecelebratedandreclaimed.TheWeavingWordsandRhymesinitiative integratesmusic“intonon-traditionalspaces[oflanguageacquisition],pioneeringnewformsof identityformationforanewgeneration.”29 Similarly,CIELO’sliteratureconferencesoffer Indigenousauthorsandactivistscriticalopportunitiestochallengetraditionalnarrativesoften co-optedbymainstreamrevisioniststorytellingthatexcludesIndigenousvoices.Italsoservesas “aspaceforpeopleofcolortoshowcaseandsharetheirworkwithawiderpublic…apossibility thatisoftenunderminedbymainstream,normativeassumptionsofwhatgetstocountas ‘literature.’”30
CommunitycareisacorepartofCIELO’swork.TheUndocu-IndigenousFunddistributed$2.4 millioninCOVIDreliefwhenthefederalgovernmentfailedtoprovideanysafeguardsand protectionsforessentialworkersofwhichthemajoritywereIndigenousMexicanmigrants.31
OthersocialservicesliketheWorldHarvestPartnershiphelpcombatfoodinsecurityby providingvouchersfreeofchargetoIndigenouspeopleinLosAngeles.
Ultimately,CIELOworksasanIndigenousorganizationfocusingontheindividualand collectivesocial,political,andeconomicneedsofitscommunity Itisforgingitsownspace, fosteringIndigenousidentity,andaddressingthepoliticalandeconomicneedsneglectedby nation-statesandinstitutionalorganizations.CIELO,unlikeUnidosUS,criticallyengageswith theracialdynamicsofboththeUnitedStatesandMexico,addressingtheprocessoferasureof IndigenousidentitywithinthedominantnarrativesofracializationintheU.S.and Mestizaje in Mexico.CIELOexiststochallengeandredefinetheseframeworksandtheirtraditionalspacesof whiteness.
MixtecoIndígenaCommunityOrganizingProject–MICOP
TheMixtecoIndígenaCommunityOrganizingProject(MICOP),foundedin2001byMixteco leadersandnon-Indigenousadvocates,isaself-governingIndigenousempowerment organization.32 Itsmissionis“tosupport,organize,andempowertheIndigenousmigrant communitieslivingonCalifornia’scentralcoast.”33 MICOPmanagesseveraldifferentprograms aimedatsupportingthelocalIndigenouscommunitiesintheirrevitalizationofIndigenous knowledgeandpreservationIndigenouslanguage.AmongthoseprogramsaretheTequioYouth Group,HealingtheCommunity,andRadioIndígena94.1FM.
MICOP’sHealingtheCommunityorNa’SanaeéNañueé,providesalternativestoWestern medicine,revivingthepracticesofhealingthatderivefromIndigenouscommunities.The programaimstointegratetraditionalIndigenouswellnesswithlocalbehavioralhealthservicesto alleviatesymptomsassociatedwithanxiety,stress,anddepression.Itreliesontraditional practiceslikeplantmedicineandenergywork.34 Thisknowledgeisimportantforthebodiesof thosewhohavehistoricallyusedit.
TheTequioYouthGroup“developstheleadershipskillsofIndigenousMexicanyouthto promoteIndigenouspride,encourageacademicachievement,andadvocateagainstbullyingof Indigenousyoungpeople.”35 Thisprogramisanessentialactofspace-makingforIndigenous identityformationandpride,whileprovidingabufferagainstthepressuresofassimilation.Itis vital,asitsupportsIndigenouspeoplefromtheindividualandstructuralexclusionsthatexist withincriticaldevelopmentspacessuchaseducation.TheTequioYouthGroupinstillsastrong senseofbelongingandidentity.
RadioIndigena94.1FMprovidesacriticalresourcetoIndigenousMexicanmigrantswholivein theUnitedStatesanddonotspeakEnglishorSpanish,thedominantlanguagesof communication.Thestationlaunchedanonlinestreamingplatformin2015andwentliveonFM in2017.36 RatherthanalienatingIndigenouspeopleandpressuringthemtoadoptcolonial languages,asUnidosUShasdonethroughitslackofresourcestoIndigenouscommunities, MICOPembracesIndigenousidentity.Thebroadcastoffersservicesinatleastsevenvariantsof theMixtecolanguage,aswellasZapotecoandPurepecha.37MICOPhascreatedanindispensable outreachtoolthatwillallowmanytokeepthemselvesinformedandkeeptheirlanguagesalive.
Thesuccessandrangeoftheseprogramsreflectsthehardworkandcommunity-buildingefforts ofIndigenouspeoplewhoarefightingfortheirplaceinasocietydominatedbynarrativesof whitenessandbelongingthatoftenexcludeIndigenousidentities.
ChallengingSettler-Colonialism&Conclusion
Thispaperhasexploredthewaysinwhich Mestizaje functionsasatransnationalframeworkthat shapesboththeidentitiesandorganizingeffortsofIndigenousMexicanmigrantsintheUnited States.InexaminingUnidosUS,CIELO,andMICOP,thisresearchshowshownationaland grassrootsorganizationsengagewithMexicanmigrantstoeitherreinforceorchallengethe structuresof Mestizaje andracialexclusion.
UnidosUS,operatingwithina Mestizo framework,hasworkedtoachieveaunitedfrontinthe UnitedStates,influencedbyideasofracestemmingfromconceptionsof Mestizaje thathave historicallyerasedIndigenouspeople,theirculture,andidentity Thisorganization’sfocuson unityandinclusion,whilesignificant,leaveslittleroomfortheuniqueculturalandpolitical needsofIndigenouscommunities.
Incontrast,significanteffortshaveemergedfromgrassrootsorganizationslikeCIELOand MICOPtopushbackagainsttheerasureofIndigenousidentity,emphasizingcultural revitalization,self-determination,andautonomy.Theseorganizationsactivelyworktocarveout spaceswhereIndigenousMexicanmigrantscanasserttheiruniqueidentities,createcommunity, andengageinactivismthatresistsbothU.S.-centricandMexican-centeredassimilation frameworksandpromotesIndigenoussovereignty.Throughtheirprograms,basedonlanguage revival,Indigenousknowledge,andleadershipdevelopment,CIELOandMICOPofferacritical challengetothe Mestizo ideologiesembeddedininstitutionalorganizing.
Byhighlightingthepoliticsof Mestizaje asatransnationalforce,thispaperunderscoresthe significanceofCIELOandMICOPinchallengingdominantframeworksofracialandethnic erasure.Theyprovideamodelforhowidentity,belonging,andadvocacycanbereimagined withinbroaderimmigrantspacesofresistanceandorganizing,empoweringIndigenousmigrants toasserttheirself-determinationandculturalheritageinwaysthattranscendnationalborders.
ThelimitationsofthisresearchlieintheshortsampleofanalysisofIndigenousandother Mexicanorganizations,aswellasthebroaderdiscussionofLatinidadintheUnitedStates. AnotherimportantthingtonoteisthatUnidosUSisanationalorganization,comparedtoCIELO andMICOPwhicharebasedinCalifornia.ItwouldbebeneficialtoevaluatehowlocalMexican servingorganizationsdealwiththequestionofIndigeneity.
Mestizaje’seffectsonorganizingintheUnitedStateshavebeenstrong,mirroringstructuresof colonialismandstate-building.But,IndigenouspeoplefromMexicoarepioneeringnewformsof identityformationforanewgeneration.Thistransnationalpathofresistancethathasemerged deservesmoreattention,andtransnationalsolidarityneedsitsownanalysis.
Notes
1.JonathanFox,“ReframingMexicanMigrationasaMulti-EthnicProcess.” Lat Stud,no.4 (2006):39,https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600173
2. JonathanFoxandGasparRivera-Salgado,“BuildingMigrantCivilSociety:Indigenous MexicansintheUS.” Iberoamericana,no.17(2005):103,http://www.jstor.org/stable/41675678.
3. JonathanFox,“ReframingMexicanMigrationasaMulti-EthnicProcess.” Lat Stud,no.4 (2006):45,https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600173.
4. Ibid.,40.
5. Ibid.,40.
6. Ibid.,40.
7. Ibid.,41.
8. Ibid.,40.
9. BritannicaEducationalPublishing,“Gobineau’sEssay ontheEssayontheInequalityof HumanRaces,”in Africa to America: From the Middle Passage Through The 1930S,editedby JeffWallenfeldt(RosenPublishingGroup,2010):105,AccessedNovember16,2024,ProQuest EbookCentral.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. JosephLund, The Mestizo State: Reading Race in Modern Mexico,(UniversityofMinnesota Press:2012),1.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.,Introduction:xx.
16. “OurHistory,”ThestoryofanAmericaninstitution,UnidosUS,AccessedNovember15, 2024,https://unidosus.org/about/history/.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. JosephLund, The Mestizo State: Reading Race in Modern Mexico,(Universityof MinnesotaPress:2012),Introduction:x.
21. “OurHistory,”ThestoryofanAmericaninstitution,UnidosUS,AccessedNovember15, 2024,https://unidosus.org/about/history/.
22. “KeyStatistics,”StatisticsabouttheU.S.Latinopopulation,UnidosUS,Accessed November15,2024,https://unidosus.org/about/history/ 23. Ibid.
24. “OurTeam,”OdiliaRomero,CIELO:ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo,Accessed November15,2024,https://mycielo.org/ourteam/.
25. OdiliaRomero,“WhyIndigenousPeopleWantYoutoStopLabelingThemasLatino,”Ted Talk,LosAngeles,CA, December2022,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WoAoOYoSmw 26. Ibid.
27. “Home,”WhoWeAre,CIELO:ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo,Accessed November15,2024,https://mycielo.org/who-we-are/.
28. Ibid.
29. “Programs,”WeavingWordsandRhymes,CIELO:ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo, AccessedNovember15,2024,https://mycielo.org/weaving-words-and-rhymes/.
30. “Programs,”IndigenousLiteratureConference,CIELO:ComunidadesIndígenasEn Liderazgo,AccessedNovember15,2024,https://mycielo.org/indigenous-literature-conference/
31. “Home,”WhoWeAre,CIELO:ComunidadesIndígenasEnLiderazgo,AccessedNovember 15,2024,https://mycielo.org/who-we-are/.
32. “AboutMICOP,”MICOP’sOriginStory,MICOP:MixtecoIndigenaCommunity OrganizingProject,AccessedNovember15,2024,https://mixteco.org/micops-origin-story/.
33. Ibid.
34. “Programs,”HealthandHealing,MICOP:MixtecoIndigenaCommunityOrganizing Project,AccessedNovember15,2024,https://mixteco.org/health-healing/.
35. “Programs,”CommunityOrganizingandPolicyAdvocacy,MICOP:MixtecoIndigena CommunityOrganizingProject,AccessedNovember15,2024, https://mixteco.org/community-organizing-policy-advocacy/ 36. Ibid.
37. Ibid.
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