#Kurly Tlapoyawa

[kuramirocket]

E-DECOLONIZE #20: Mexica Identity? Mexica Centrism and Decolonization: 9/16/22

Meet the panelists:

Cuitlahuac Arreola Martinez:

Cuitlahuac Arreola Martinez is a Nahuatl Language Learner & Teacher. They teach people of all ages from preschoolers to elders. As a 3rd language learner their role is to teach beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes of modern Nahuatl variants with an emphasis on Huasteca dialects from Veracruz, Hidalgo, & San Luis Potosi. Classical Nahuatl or ancient Nahuatl or colonial Nahuatl is also taught but the main focus is to speak in our original languages that is why they are also an Indigenous Language Promoter & Activist. They want to empower our community via language, a passion that they have had their whole life. They want to encourage everyone to speak their native language as a way of decolonizing, as a way to heal. They have been teaching virtually since 2018 and presently via Zoom. Pre-pandemic, they taught at LA Plaza de Culturas y Artes, Semillitas Preschool, Pasadena City College and other schools in so-called Southern California.

For more info: Speaknahuatl.com on Social Media

Huitzilyolotl Anahuac:

Huitzilyolotl is from Orange County, California. He’s a third-generation Chicano with roots in Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Coahuila and of Zacateco, Guachichile, and Nahua descent. He has a Master’s degree in Chicano Studies. He has been working in education for 18 years and currently working on his special education credentials to continue working with students with emotional disturbance. Huitzilyolotl is also a third-generation massage therapist and is continuing his family legacy of healing. Huitzilyolotl is also an Indigenous activist and poet.

Kurly Tlapoyawa:

Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, cultural consultant, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at Harvard University, The University of New Mexico, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He most recently worked as a cultural consultant for an upcoming film from Nickelodeon Animation Studios.

Kurly is the co-host of the podcast “Tales From Aztlantis, which deals with Chicano identity, Mesoamerican pseudo history, and archaeological misconceptions.

Talesfromaztlantis.com

Chimalli.org

Mexickanewyear.com

Chris Cuauhtli:

Chris Cuauhtli is an Indigenous Nahua Tamazulteco from Tamazula Jalisco Mexico. He was born in Soyatlan, outside of Tamazula Jalisco and raised in Sacramento California. He is a Professional tattoo artist and Indigenous Language advocate currently working on the revitalization of the Nahuatl variant of southern Jalisco. He has been involved in Danza Azteca Chichimeca and Indigenous ceremonies in the US and Mexico for over 25 years. He currently works as an English language tutor and Tattoo artist and resides in Mexico. Visit Jalisco Nahuatl on Youtube and IG for more information

Citlalli Anahuac:

Anahuac is a historian, poet, activist. For the past 26 years she has been studying decolonial Mexican history as a detribalized Mexicana and has dedicated her activism, poetry, and research to understanding and sharing that history. She is a fourth generation removed from a Nahua speaking community of El Grullo Jalisco. She uses social media to share critical research on decolonial history of México. Her publications include Obsidian Blades: Decolonizing Poetry for Indigenous People of Occupied America (2013) and Don’t Call Me Latina: Notes from a decolonizing Mexican reclaiming everything that is ours (2022) She launched E-Decolonize in 2020 and since then has dedicated her time to teaching free and private courses that focus on providing accessible education for all ages and a priority to teaching the BIPOC community. Find her on social media under MEXICAN EXCELLENCE.

www.citlalli-anahuac.com

[starblaster]

if you say your favorite animal is an axolotl but you pronounce “axolotl” like “ack-so-lot-al” then the axolotl is not your favorite animal

[tlatollotl]

A recent publication in The Urban Review journal has come to our attention. The journal presents itself as one that deals with “Issues and Ideas in Education,” so it was surprising to see their publication of the article entitled, “Early Pioneers of the Americas: The Role of the Olmecs in Urban Education and Social Studies Curriculum’’ by Greg Wiggan, Annette Teasdell, Marcia J. Watson‑Vandiver, and Sheikia Talley‑Matthews. In their article, Wiggan et al peddle the long discredited notion that the Olmec were not indigenous Americans, but rather that they were black Africans who traversed the Atlantic Ocean millennia before Christopher Columbus. There are variations on the hypothesis, but the general idea is that Africans established (or helped establish) one of the oldest major civilizations in the Americas, the Olmec, which scholars credit as being a major inspiration for the Mesoamerican Indigenous cultures that followed. What we find surprising is that a publication that purports to be educational would publish an article that advocates the introduction of “Black Olmec” curriculum in schools.

Teaching the baseles and erroneous claim that the Olmec were black Africans is just as colonialist as the Eurocentric model that Afrocentrists rail against. Such claims regarding the Olmec are the result of outdated racial worldviews held by early European writers, many of whom never set foot in the Americas, combined with the Afrocentric ramblings of pseudoscholars such as Ivan Van Sertima and Clyde Winters, none of who are Mesoamerican specialists. The idea of “Black Olmecs” is rooted in pseudohistorical revisionism and is not accepted by legitimate Mesoamerican scholars. It should be made clear that no archaeological, faunal, floral, genetic, or historical evidence exists to support the myth of “Black Olmecs.” In fact, scholars such as Gabriel Haslip-Viera, Warren Barbour, and Bernard Ortiz de Montellano have published extensive research refuting Van Sertima and the myth of “Black Olmecs.”

Proponents of this myth base their conclusions on superficial interpretations of the famous Olmec heads of Veracruz. These statues, they claim, bear physiognomic resemblance to Africans solely based on their broad noses and thick lips. The fact that the statues also resemble Mexico’s Indigenous people (along with the fact that broad noses and thick lips are not solely black African characteristics) is simply ignored. If these assertions were being made in the reverse by white authors about black African culture, those people would rightfully be castigated for their racist interpretations. Somehow, when it comes to Native Americans, especially if they are ancient and mysterious enough, it is okay to make outlandish claims. The long running pseudohistorical television program about ancient aliens and ancient peoples is in this same vein.

Sadly, with this proposition, what the adherents of this unfounded thesis assert is that Indigenous peoples of the Americas received their foundational culture from black Africans, a belief that effectively robs Native Americans of their cultural patrimony. In fact, most of what Wiggan et al state in their piece does not support their claim, which they themselves admit is mostly “suggestive.” That is not how positive claims work; you must have actual facts and not just quotes from secondary sources posing as facts in order to make your case. The entire article is riddled with questionable “sources” that the authors lean on as primary evidence; however, upon closer examination, the cited “evidence” are actually quotes from secondary sources that are misinterpreted, noted as suggestive, or have been revealed to be incorrect.

It would take an article length paper to properly demonstrate the numerous errors made by Wiggan et al but let us explore at least one — the extensive use of secondary sources as primary sources. For example, here the authors quote Van Sertima: “[The] African presence in the Olmec world demonstrated that the African first entered the Western Hemisphere not as chattels, not as property, not as merchandise, not as enslaved people, but as masters in control of their own destinies” (pg 4). They follow that quote with this statement: “In spite of the above evidence, education and curriculum development literature are generally silent on the Olmecs” (pg 5). What evidence are they referring to; that Van Sertima made a claim linking Africans to Olmecs? It seems extremely odd to have to say this about an article published in a (peer-reviewed?) journal, but opinions are not facts and therefore not evidence. Simply quoting the opinions of another author does not make that a supporting fact. You must follow up with actual evidence, and that is a key missing element in this entire piece.

Now let us consider some of their sources. The authors that Wiggan et al chose to rely on are highly questionable. For instance, Ivan Van Sertima (as mentioned above) was soundly refuted in the 1990s by Montellano et al. Sertima’s predecessor, Harold G. Lawrence — who kickstarted the modern iteration of the Black Olmec hypothesis — had no advanced training in archeology or history, and in fact, his influential piece, “African explorers of the New World” (1962, The Crisis) introduces him as belonging to a group from Detroit, Michigan called The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Apparently that is enough to make him a credible source on the prehistory of Native Americans. And finally, they cite Anu M’Bantu, a British-born photo-journalist who also does not have advanced training in Mesoamerican Indigenous societies. M’Bantu has written several self-published books with curious titles, such as The Ancient Black Hebrews and Arabs (2013) and The Black Kings of Europe (2019). Sources can either make or break a thesis, and the ones in question here are the kind that usually get flagged during peer-review.

We certainly agree that the history and legacy of African peoples in the Americas is still not sufficiently taught in schools, but we do children a disservice by advancing opinions as “facts.” Promoting the idea that the Olmec were black is more than simply poor scholarship, it is an erasure of the accomplishments of Indigenous Mexicans. Africa and Mexico are both home to fascinating civilizations, each with their own advancements in technology, linguistics, agriculture, and science. When we embrace the pseudohistory of “Black Olmecs,” we trivialize and marginalize the legacies of both Africans and Indigenous Mexicans.

Thus, in light of this major oversight, we ask that the The Urban Review journal retract the article by Wiggan et al and discontinue its promotion of “Black Olmecs.” As long-time ethnic studies researchers and educators ourselves, we would prefer to see accurate and far more meaningful scholarship that explores better ways of advancing education among urban youth. Certainly, we can recognize the heritage of Africans and African Americans — as well as that of Afro-Mexicans — without promoting a distorted, colonialist, and fanciful version of history. In the words of Van Sertima himself: “You cannot really conceive how insulting it is to Native Americans to be told they were discovered” (pg 21). We agree with Sertima on that point, but we would further add that it is just as equally insulting to be told that someone else gave your ancestors their culture. You cannot counter colonialist thought with colonialist pedagogy.

Sincerely, Kurly Tlapoyawa, Supervisory Archaeologist Ruben A. Arellano (Tlakatekatl), History Ph.D.

The Chimalli Institute of Mesoamerican Arts

[hedgewitchgarden]

The Indigenous roots of Day of the Dead.“.... where did this Indigenous celebration of ancestor veneration come from? And why does it coincide with Christian celebrations of Allhallowtide?” — Kurly Tlapoyawa of Chimalli Institute

[downthetubes]

Top Danish comic creators head to 2019 Lakes International Comic Art Festival

Top Danish comic creators head to 2019 Lakes International Comic Art Festival

The Lakes International Comic Art Festival has announced the full line up of Danish comic creators heading to Kendal in October, along with guests from Estonia, Finland and Italy – and beyond.

Working with the Art Bubble Comics Festival (which next takes place 9th – 10th November 2019 in Copenhagen), six top Danish creators will be attending this year’s weekend-long Festival: Árni Beck Gunnarsson

[siddysthings]

5 Reasons to reject the war on Chicana-Chicano Indigeneity. | by Kurly Tlapoyawa | Medium

[decolonizeyourself]

THE HISPANO WHITE NATIONALISM OF NORTHERN NEW MEXICO

June 3, 2018

White power movements are on the rise in Spain, but we have our own version right here in New Mexico.

[ unseennewmexico.org ]

cover image: Spanish fascists gather in Madrid to honor Francisco Franco.

By Kurly Tlapoyawa

If the image of angry Spanish youth throwing the fascist salute worries you, you might want to pay close attention. Because while the photo above was taken in Madrid during an event in honor of Fransisco Franco, a homegrown brand of hispano white nationalism is taking shape right here in the state of New Mexico.

The controversy surrounding Española’s celebration of Juan de Oñate recently boiled over when a coalition of community activists and Indigenous rights groups demanded that representations of Oñate be removed from the city’s annual parade. This demand prompted an outcry from a small, but vocal segment of New Mexico’s white hispano community, who saw it as an existential threat to their cherished fiestas.

The thing is, very few people have a problem with commemorating the events that led to the establishment of communities in northern New Mexico. The history is well documented of how these communities were settled by a handful of Spaniards accompanied by a large number of Indios Mexicanos. It is the insistence that these fiestas serve as a platform for celebrating Juan de Oñate that people take issue with. Hell, the majority of people who live in Española don’t seem to have a problem with working out some sort of compromise.

So…why would anyone be opposed to celebrating Juan de Oñate, you might ask?

For starters, he was a career criminal who was tried and convicted of rape, murder, and theft – crimes for which he was exiled from the state of New Mexico for life. In fact, Oñate was such a shitty leader that 2/3 of the Spanish colonists he led to New Mexico deserted his settlement and fled. Perhaps most importantly, he is best known for having ordered the enslavement of Acoma women and children, and ordering that all Acoma men over the age of 25 have one of their feet chopped off.

Seriously. This is the murderous clown that a small group of New Mexican hispanos is rushing to defend.

The hispanos view their veneration of Juan de Oñate as a matter of European birthright, and perceive any criticism of Oñate and the parade held in his honor as an assault on their culture. And therein lies the problem: by framing Oñate as the embodiment of their culture, Oñate supporters have painted themselves into an ideological corner, creating an intractable situation in which even the slightest compromise would be seen as complete cultural surrender. In their minds, admitting that Oñate was a piece of shit is tantamount to admitting that their culture is also shit.

This fear of somehow betraying their heritage prevents them from ever doing the right thing in this situation, which would be to commemorate history without glorifying a murdering rapist. But perhaps creating such an immovable position was the plan all along. After all, it is far easier to mobilize your base against an imagined threat to your culture and community than it is to do credible research and admit that celebrating Oñate is a pretty fucking horrible idea. Unfortunately, people tend to have a hard time admitting when they are wrong.

Unsurprisingly, their position bears a striking resemblance to that of southerners who promote confederate imagery as “heritage” rather than symbols of white supremacy. If this seems like an unfair comparison, I joined the “Save the Española Fiestas” Facebook page to develop a more informed opinion of their views. Here is a response I received to one of my questions:

Puke.

Things recently came to a head at an Española City Council meeting, where supporters of the fiestas petitioned to have the sponsorship of the event transferred to a non-profit to avoid city oversight of the parade. Their arguments for honoring Oñate were…interesting to say the least.

Many of the Oñate proponents in attendance made sure to reference the “common blood and culture” they share with New Mexico’s indigenous people, but this was little more than cover to excuse their abhorrent support of Oñate. After all, if they actually DID have any respect for this “common blood and culture,” they would take the concerns of Indigenous people into consideration. I mean, surely we can commemorate our shared history in a way that is dignified, inclusive, and respectful, right?

Apparently not.

The most telling moment of the evening came when a pro-Oñate historian (and I use the term “historian” loosely), argued that the Spanish colonization of New Mexico was inevitable, and that white hispanos should be seen as native to the area. Because, you know, all it takes to be native is to be born somewhere. This ahistorical argument is designed to gradually obfuscate who is and isn’t a “native” person, thus enabling white hispanos to lay some sort of ancestral claim to New Mexico. It is an intellectually dishonest tactic, demonstrating a clear disregard for New Mexico’s numerous indigenous communities.

What this reveals about the Oñate supporters is that they really aren’t concerned with “preserving culture” at all. Rather, they have embraced a pointedly ethnocentric position that seeks to privilege the legacy of European conquest by any means necessary. Framing European colonization as an inevitable form of “manifest destiny” and declaring that their descendants are now “natives” is a hallmark of settler colonialism. Australian writer and historian Patrick Wolfe calls this strategy “destroy to replace.”

Whatever settlers may say— and they generally have a lot to say—the primary motive for elimination is not race (or religion, ethnicity, grade of civilization, etc.) but access to territory. Territoriality is settler colonialism’s specific, irreducible element. – Patrick Wolfe

The underlying intent of the pro-Oñate fiestas is not to preserve any sort of cultural traditions, but to distort New Mexico’s history to the point that its Indigenous people are merely footnotes in a pre-ordained historical legacy written by and for white people. Glorifying men like Juan de Oñate is a central part of this process.

In a recent Facebook comment, an Oñate supporter asked “What do we call this group of awesome culture protectors now?” Whatever name they choose to go by, I think “hispano white nationalist” best describes their attitudes and objectives. In fact, this is the term I will be using from here on.

Sound like hyperbole? Consider a few other comments made by members of their group:

Clearly these are people who cannot be reasoned with. Their contempt for Indigenous people is rivaled only by their sad devotion to a racist fantasy in which white hispanos from New Mexico are “native people living in their homeland.” The twisted ideals of hispano white nationalism have no place in our state.

Time will tell if the Española fiestas can survive under a non-profit, but one thing is certain: New Mexico’s Indigenous people will not sit silent while white supremacy is flaunted in our faces under the guise of “celebrating culture.”

Fuck Juan de Oñate.

Want to help us fight this idiocy and tell Española to kick Oñate to the curb? Sign our petition!!

SOURCE: https://unseennewmexico.org/2018/06/03/spanish-white-power-movements-are-on-the-rise-but-we-hav-eour-own-version-right-here-in-new-mexico/

More reading on white hispanic/”white mexican” identity here: http://decolonizeyourselfarchive.tumblr.com/tagged/white_hispanic

[imanquer]

Part 1 ( The new Chicano movement)

https://www.indianz.com/News/2019/11/25/kurly-tlapoyawa-erasing-the-indigenous-r.asp

“The Chicano movement” happened in the “1960s-70s. With this movement also came the a “shift in chicano artistic consciousness” as explained by the authors. Chicano art began to become more modern, this, in a way began a new chicano movement. As it was mentioned in the text there was a “massive transition”. With this huge transition chicano artist began to move away from identity driven art, because when you work with identity not a lot of people can relate. 

Although chicano artist began to move away from identity, I believe that in many ways part of the chicano identity is still there. I do think that moving away from identity in order for other people to relate was a god thing. However, I think that chicano artist should not let that go because there is still many people who are uneducated about what “chicano” is, and with their art they tell she Chicano story education those who may not know.

[siddysthings]

New Mexico Has a Hispano White Nationalism Problem | by Kurly Tlapoyawa | An Injustice! | Medium

[siddysthings]

New Mexico Has a Hispano White Nationalism Problem | by Kurly Tlapoyawa | An Injustice! | Medium