Chicano People and Colonization of Pueblo Indians - Essay Example

Insert Chicano studies Chicano word was originally derived from Mexicans living in the United s. The reason behind it was that who had decided to live in the U.S. were no longer real Mexicans for they had given up their country by living in other countries. They were a small group. In the ancient days, the act of calling someone a Chicano was to mean that they were illiterate, poor, and destitute people living in tin shacks along the border. However, the resentment still lingered. Chicano people are well explained under the following aspects. Under development Chicano people were underdeveloped because of political instability within their region. It is because political power is gained by having good number of followers. In addition, the voting pattern in the USA was more along the tribal lines thus making the Chicano people unlucky when it comes to national resource allocation. Having a political representative would have helped the Chicanos to develop within their area. Illiteracy was also another factor that significantly contributed to the underdevelopment of the Chicano people in Mexico. It is because they did not have the skills and experience on how to foster their individual development ideas that would help them to prosper to be in par with other communities. Moreover, they suffered because of discrimination from other communities who did not give them room to share or exchange ideas. Lack of adequate resources to the Chicano people made them remain behind in development sector. Lack of technological empowerment is also another area that contributed to the underdevelopment of the Chicanos. Race At the heart issues, dealing with presentation is the human urge to put things into category things, even other humans. One needed to be black or white, male or female, being an American or a citizen from whichever the country, to able to receive fair treatment in the society. The US racial groups were made up of black, white, indigenous, Asian and other. This meant that there was nowhere the Chicanos could fit in these races. The Us government termed them as Hispanics but was not well received by Latinos since it was not inclusive of everybody and they felt it was just top down ethnic identity. The Chicanos did not want to be identified by these dualisms, which was their biggest problem. In turn, the way that Chicanos represent themselves in a daily life did not correspond to the experience of other groups. Thus, it often results to portrayals that are inaccurate when that particular group does not have control of the way that exhibit those portrayals. The act to be labeled a Chicano was fundamental for those who did not want to have the opportunity of self-identification. It is necessary for the generation to have a sense of self-identification in society in order to be satisfied psychologically. Since Chicano did not only define a person, but his political nature and ethnic marker that led to the suffering of the Chicano people through criticism. They were not original Americans; neither were they Mexicans because of immigration hence viewed by the other members of society as a lost group and were not taken seriously. How the conquest of New Mexico differs from the conquest of US south-west Conquest of New Mexico Colonization of Pueblo Indians The colonization of Pueblo Indians started in 1598 when Juan de Onate led catholic priests and 129 soldiers, women and children and their property into New Mexico. New Mexico at that time was occupied by almost 40.000 Pueblo Indians. Many Indians were killed and enslaved in Acoma Pueblo. Acoma killings created a lot fear among the Indians for many Pueblo Indians. This enabled the missionaries to settle in several cities in order to turn the local into Christians. When the Spanish colonialists settled in New Mexico, the Indians were forced into paying tributes to the Spanish rulers in the form of corn, textile and labor. Their sacred places were destroyed, age hierarchies were broken down The Pueblo Indians were restricted from farming in the fertile lands and water sources. The Pueblo Indians were hard hit by the assault to their religion through the introduction of Christianity, indoctrination of their Children and the killing and enslaving of the Pueblo Indian leaders. Pueblo revolt-1680 The revolt of 1680 began when Pope a religious leader of the Pueblo Indians was released. Pope alongside other leaders planned the revolt against the Spanish. AS of August many Spanish people had been killed and most of them had fled to the Governors palace in Santa Fe. Other survivors took refuge in Isleta which was occupied by friendly Pueblo Indians. After a period of close to two weeks the colonialist fled the palace and fled towards El Paso in Texas. When the revolt was over 400 Spanish speaking people had been killed which included 21 priests in New Mexico. The Pueblo Indians remained independent for a period of 12 years despite other revolts attempts against them in 1681, 1687. After the revolt Pope declared himself the leader f the Pueblo Indians and he attempted to erase all the traces of the Spanish from New Mexico. Despite their independence, the Pueblo Indians did not become united as they hoped to due to traditional rivalry amongst themselves. US Southwest Conquest New Mexico gained independence from the Spanish in 1821. They became independent from this time until 1846 when they went into war with the United States. During this period their was political instability since they had been ruled by the Spanish for a period of over 150 years and their was confusion on what government to adopt. New Mexico and the United States went to war over a tremendous measure of landscape what would add up to 50% of Mexico into the US. Mexico lost most of its land and resources. The American mostly controlled the south-west through the trading activities they participated in with New Mexico. The trades included the Santa Fe trail. They participated in this trade because it was easier to trade with the whites of the United States. Reasons for the war The war started because of several reasons that were influenced from the United States side. The war was started due to an imperialistic movements in the United States that sought to create a connection of the union from the Pacific Oceans to the Atlantic, regardless of who occupied or owned the land in between these two regions. California was the real objective in the far west. From the perspective of Mexico, these grounds were not of any extraordinary quality, yet they had a place within Mexico. The grounds were theirs and had potential esteem later on. They were not of quick monetary condition; however, Mexicans knew that their conquest was because theirs was a grand spot for agribusiness (Cooke). As illustrated by John Ridge who in his life witnesses blood-and-thunder. The story as told is the episode Life of Joaquin Murieta presents evidence of slaughter cases due to land issues. Migration resulted from this crusade and revenge alike. Secondly, many Americans in the United States also believed in a manifest destiny theory at that time which meant that they believed the Us had a duty to expand its borders limitlessly. The war is also blamed on the border dispute between the Texans who believed the Rio Grande river as their southern border while Mexican believed the Nueces river was their northern border. The United States was mostly populated by a majority of Protestants and Mexico by a majority of Catholics. Therefore it was also assumed that religion played a role in the war. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ( 1848 ) The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo took place in 1848. The treaty happened after the US army had occupied Mexico City in August of 1847. General Santa Anna agreed to enter into discussions and negotiations with US for a peace treaty. The treaty was negotiated by Nicholas P from the US who was given instructions by the president of US. The Mexicans, though reluctantly entered into treaty negotiations because they had been defeated several times by the US army who were occupying their capital city and over 100,00 people had been killed. In the end the treaty resulted into more than ten states being brought into the US. The states included California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, part of Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Other parts like New Mexico and Arizona were purchased later in 1953. Effects To Pueblo Indians During and after the war the Pueblo group were preoccupied with adjusting into life under the new rule of the Americans. Even though Mexico had recognized them as citizens and given them special attorney to represent them, the Americans were unwilling to give them privileges or make legal distinctions between them and the other warlike nomads in the region. The Pueblo rights were recognized by the US as they were given land grants just like during the Spanish period in 1854. Their lands were also protected against invaders and encroachments. Effects To Southwest US The treaty brought about the creation and development of outlaws who had no regard of the law. The outlaws were mostly Mexicans. The state of California witnessed a gold rush after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago. The participants were America miners and other outlaws that included Joaqin Murieta. Joaqin Murieta is seen as a person who wanted to retrieve the part of Mexico that was lost to the American during the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Some portray Murieta as a generous man who only turned wild after he was mistreated by the miners and after his brother was killed. Grogorio Cortez was a native of Mexico who settled in South of Texas. He was an outlaw who was viewed as a hero among the Mexicans as he evaded the authorities constantly. The two periods have witnessed a lot of experiences faced by the Mexican people and especially the Pueblo group. The New Mexico era of 1598 saw a partially independence of the Pueblo Indians who entered a state of confusion after they defeated the Spaniards. The rule of government was mostly religion based and peace was not achieved due to their own traditional fights. There was less prosperity as it happened during a period of famine and they could not also be able to protect their lands against invaders like the Navajo. This state of confusion brought less prosperity. The Us Southwest period saw more of a political organization as the lands were acquired by the powerful Americans. The Pueblo group of this time had to adopt and learn the way of life of the Americans as they were now under a new nation. This period also sees the rights of the Pueblo group being recognized as they were given grants for their fertile lands and were protected against invaders. Works cited Cooke, Philip St. George. The Conquest Of New Mexico And California: A Historical And Personal Narrative. New York: Nabu Press, 2012. Paredes, Américo. With His Pistol in His Hand. 1958. 5 OCT 2014 . Ridge, John Rollin. The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California Bandit. Chicago: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955. Spencer, Glenn. Conquest of Aztlan. 2013. 5 OCT 2014 . Weber, David J. The Borderlands . 2006. 5 OCT 2014 . Read More