Are Mexicans/Central Americans Indigenous and who decides?

As many US states and municipalities have begun to eschew the colonial tradition of "Columbus Day" in favor of adopting Monday's holiday as "Indigenous Peoples' Day," one might wonder where people of Mexican heritage fit in.

For some, this is a controversial question due to hundreds of years of mestizaje, or mixture, and also due to hundreds of years of colonialism and colonized thinking. For others, this is not controversial at all, because with few European women brought to this continent, the mixture was not co-equal and consensual, and thus, most Mexicans essentially remain Indigenous or are de-Indigenized peoples as a result of colonization. For the rest of the column, go to: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/42193-are-mexicans-indigenous

Indigenous Studies and Consciousness Generationally Delayed

I've long-wondered why an Indigenous consciousness exists among some Mexicans/Chicanos/Central Americans and other peoples from this continent, while not in others, considering that all are generally products of colonization? This phenomenon is often most stark when many reject the notion of celebrating a "Hispanic heritage" at the expense of subjugating their primarily Indigenous-African and mixed heritage. And a related question: Why did Indigenous Studies, counterintuitively, never develop as an academic discipline within Raza Studies, considering that Indigeneity is at its philosophical core?

For the rest of the column, go to: http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/42091-indigenous-studies-and-consciousness-generationally-delayed

Enriqueta Vasquez: Eminent Historian for "The Women of La Raza"

I am going to go out on an (academic) limb and call The Women of La Razaby Enriqueta Vasquez both a treasure and a living codex. I will also say this about Enriqueta herself: Vive en la sabiduria -- she lives in wisdom, wisdom of an elder, wisdom of the elders, an elder who also leaves footprints and also walks in beauty. Her words and generational knowledge are gifts to us, and I will say that her epic book is a must-read, especially for those interested in the history of Chicanos in general, but even more specifically, the history of Chicanas in this country. For the rest of the column, please go to:http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/41899-enriqueta-vasquez-eminent-historian-for-the-women-of-la-raza

The National Council of La Raza's Name Change: A National Capitulation

The National Council of La Raza's Name Change: A National Capitulation

Thursday, September 07, 2017By Roberto Rodriguez, Speakout | Op-Ed

The National Council of La Raza's (NCLR) recent name change to UnidosUS is bizarre and incomprehensible and its rationale that their name was "getting in the way of their mission" strains credulity, especially because it was also purportedly trying to be more relevant to the young. This action, coming from the nation's largest Latino civil rights coalition, simply reeks of outright capitulation -- this at a time when the communities that it seeks to represent are under the most relentless attacks in modern history, compliments of the current White House occupant and his allies. 

For the rest of the column please go to:http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/item/41865-the-national-council-of-la-raza-s-name-change-a-national-capitulation

The Spanish Inquisition Lives On in Arizona's Ban on Mexican American Studies

The Spanish Inquisition Lives On in Arizona's Ban on Mexican American Studies

Friday, August 11, 2017

I have always viewed Arizona's effort to eradicate Mexican American Studies (MAS) as something akin to an unholy Inquisition. For some, that will sound hyperbolic; not for me.

US district Judge Wallace Tashima is expected to make a decision soon on whether the 2010 Arizona House Bill 2281 legislation, which bans Arizona public schools from offering ethnic studies classes, was passed with the intention of discriminating against Tucson's Mexican American students.

For the rest of the column go to: http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/41578-the-spanish-inquisition-lives-on-in-arizona-s-ban-on-mexican-american-studies

Mexican American or Mexican Mexicano?

During a time of changing identities, I remember a student of mine at the University of Arizona once defined himself as a Mexican Mexicano, this in contrast to Mexican American, as was the case for many of his classmates. I understood that identity. For the rest of the column, go to: http://diverseeducation.com/article/99152/ http://diverseeducation.com/article/99152/

Law Enforcement Violence in 2017 "Normalized"

by Roberto Rodriguez

The recent exoneration of the Anaheim and Bakersfield, California police officers, respectively, who killed Adalid Flores, who was carrying a cell phone, and 73-year-old Francisco Serna, who was carrying a crucifix, drives home the mantra of “no convictions” that has been made by criminal justice activists. In three recent high-profile trials involving the officers who killed Philando Castile, Terrence Crutcher and Sylville Smith, all officers have walked.

For the rest of the column, please go to: http://diverseeducation.com/article/98756/