• Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen

latinopia.com

Latino arts, history and culture

  • Home
    • Get the Podcasts
    • About
      • Contact Latinopia.com
      • Copyright Credits
      • Production Credits
      • Research Credits
      • Terms of Use
      • Teachers Guides
  • Art
    • LATINOPIA ART
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Film/TV
    • LATINOPIA CINEMA
    • LATINOPIA SHOWCASE
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Food
    • LATINOPIA FOOD
    • COOKING
    • RESTAURANTS
  • History
    • LATINOPIA EVENT
    • LATINOPIA HERO
    • TIMELINES
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • EVENT PROFILE
    • MOMENT IN TIME
    • DOCUMENTS
    • TEACHERS GUIDES
  • Lit
    • LATINOPIA WORD
    • LATINOPIA PLÁTICA
    • LATINOPIA BOOK REVIEW
    • PIONEER AMERICAN LATINA AUTHORS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Music
    • LATINOPIA MUSIC
    • INTERVIEWS
    • FEATURES
  • Theater
    • LATINOPIA TEATRO
    • INTERVIEWS
  • Blogs
    • Angela’s Photo of the Week
    • Arnie & Porfi
    • Bravo Road with Don Felípe
    • Burundanga Boricua
    • Chicano Music Chronicles
    • Fierce Politics by Dr. Alvaro Huerta
    • Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz
    • Political Salsa y Más
    • Mis Pensamientos
    • Latinopia Guest Blogs
    • Tales of Torres
    • Word Vision Harry Gamboa Jr.
    • Julio Medina Serendipity
    • ROMO DE TEJAS
    • Sara Ines Calderon
    • Ricky Luv Video
    • Zombie Mex Diaries
    • Tia Tenopia
  • Podcasts
    • Louie Perez’s Good Morning Aztlán
    • Mark Guerrero’s Chicano Music Chronicles
      • Yoga Talk with Julie Carmen
You are here: Home / Blogs / MIRANDOLO BIEN with EDUARDO DIAZ “DÉJÁ VU IN OREGON. NOT EXACTLY.”

MIRANDOLO BIEN with EDUARDO DIAZ “DÉJÁ VU IN OREGON. NOT EXACTLY.”

January 24, 2016 by Tia Tenopia

Juan-de-OnatePD_200

Juan de Oñate.

In 1598, a defining Spanish expedition, led by conquistador Juan de Oñate, departed Zacatecas, Mexico. The Spaniards and their indigenous servants, following trails previously blazed by Native Americans, made their way north to what is now Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded in 1610. To solidify its occupation, the Spanish monarchy awarded mercedes (land grants) to early settlers committed to community building. Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla, Truchas, and many others are among the earliest land grant-based European settlements in what is now the United States.

Upon gaining its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico recognized the validity of the mercedes. Note that nearly 1,200 miles separate Mexico City and Santa Fe. My sense is that the young republic thought it impractical to disturb things in far-flung communities, by then over two hundred years old. Things went rather swimmingly until the Mexican-American War, when, in 1846, a Manifest Destiny-driven United States waged war with Mexico, producing one of the largest land grabs in world history—the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

Mexican-American-War-Map-Public-Domain_300

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded half of Mexico to the United States.

The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 brought an official end to the conflict, a document that ostensibly respected the legality of the Spanish land grants. However, through an institutionalized, race-based pattern of legal maneuvering, theft and violent confrontation, possession of too many of the mercedes was yanked away from the early settlers by the new conquerors at a startling scale and dizzying rate.

Fast-forward to the creation of La Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants), led by Reies López Tijerina, a charismatic ex-preacher and land grant activist. In October 1966, protesting the tolerated pattern of land dispossession and economic and social marginalization, Tijerina and his band occupied the Echo Amphitheater, a U.S. National Parks site located just west of Abiquiú. (Readers are probably more familiar with Abiquiú as the community just down the road from Georgia O’Keefe’s storied Ghost Ranch.) By seizing this federal property, (sound familiar?) the group hoped to draw attention to the claims of the former land grant community of nearby San Joaquín. Things did not go well with New Mexico’s governor and, upping the ante, the activists took over the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse, located north of Abiquiú, on June 5, 1967. Shooting erupted and hostage-taking ensued, followed by the prompt ouster of the activists and a massive manhunt. Tijerina and many of his followers were actively prosecuted.

Tierra Amarilla Courthouse

Tierra Amarilla Courthouse was taken over by Reies López Tijerina in 1967.

Fast-forward again to the recent occupation of southeast Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by armed anti-federalists. This white militia’s seizure of federal land, now in its third week, was prompted by the imprisonment of two convicted local arsonists whose crimes were perpetrated on nearby federal lands. According to an Arizona-based militiaman holding up at the refuge, “It needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government.” (Washington Post, January 17) I am not sure that rough and ready Teddy Roosevelt, who established the Malheur Refuge in 1908, would approve, nor would his government standby in response to this violation of federal law. The militia has indicated that it will use force to maintain possession, which is not sitting too well with the law-abiding folks of nearby Burns, Oregon. (I wonder if some there are thinking the situation could escalate into something resembling WGN America’s The Outsiders television series.) I join millions in hoping for a peaceful solution.

Let us be clear. In the case of New Mexico and Oregon, we are talking about Native lands. I find it unfortunate, though not surprising, that original claims of tribal sovereignty have been largely ignored in the reporting of the takeover, a most regrettable outcome of all of this.

Malheur-HeadquartersCC-Cacaphony_200

What would happen if a group of armed Latinos or Native Americans took over the Malheur headquarters?

Imagine, if you will, if a group of armed Latinos or Native Americans had occupied Malheur professing to violently resist eviction? I suspect that Harney County, state, and federal officials would have mobilized swiftly. I invite readers to imagine the scene and outcome.

New York-born comic Hari Kondabolu reflects, “Telling me that I’m obsessed with talking about racism in America is like telling me I’m obsessed with swimming when I’m drowning.” I find his words hauntingly resonant in assessing the implications of the Malheur Refuge conundrum.

______________________________________________

Copyright 2016 by Eduardo Díaz.  Photos are in the public domain.

Filed Under: Blogs, Mirándolo Bien with Eduado Díaz Tagged With: Chicano, Chicano Movement, Land Grants, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Manifest Destiny, Mexico, New Mexico, Oregon, Santa Fe, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

POLITICAL SALSA Y MÁS with SAL BALDENEGRO 01.17.21 “DECENCY IS NOT TRANSACTIONAL”

January 17, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Decency is not transactional… Again, by your leave, I’m going to deviate from my usual diet of politics and such and focus on a topic that is more personal, more intimate, yet just as important as (community-based or partisan) politics: gratitude. As I look around today’s political landscape, I see more enmity than friendliness. This […]

RICARDO ROMO’S TEJANO REPORT 1.23.21 THE MCNAY ART MUSEUM EXHIBIT

January 23, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Latino Art: The Joy of Collecting and Giving In mid-January 2021 the McNay Art Museum opened an exhibit of Latino prints featuring the works of Richard Duardo, John Valadez, Cesar Martinez, Raul Caracoza, Melanie Cervantes, Juan Miguel Ramos, John Valadez, Barbara Carrasco, and Juan Mora. We took a special interest in its opening since nearly […]

FIERCE POLITICS with DR. ALVARO HUERTA 1.17.21 “THE WHITE NATIONALIST BARBARIANS STORM THE GATE(S) OF THE U.S. CAPITAL”

January 17, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

“The White Nationalist Barbarians Storm the Gate(s) of the U.S. Capitol” The white nationalist barbarians, aided and abetted by their Führer—President Donald J. Trump—stormed and entered the gate(s) at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The seditionists include those who brazenly entered the so-called people’s house,[1] responsible for death, destruction and mayhem, along […]

BURUNDANGA BORICUA DEL ZOCOTROCO 1.23.21 “CRISIS DE LA ESPERANZA- PARTE III”

January 23, 2021 By Tia Tenopia

Burundanga de Zocotroco Crisis de la Esperanza Parte III Educación y Desesperanza La primera parte de este largo ensayo propone el diagnostico de desesperanza y presenta la evidencia demográfica como primera argumentación. La segunda parte aborda la dimensión económica, en esta tercer parte se enfoca la educación, por ser vehículo de movilidad social y aspecto […]

More Posts from this Category

New On Latinopia

LATINOPIA ART SONIA ROMERO 2

By Tia Tenopia on October 20, 2013

Sonia Romero is a graphic artist,muralist and print maker. In this second profile on Sonia and her work, Latinopia explores Sonia’s public murals, in particular the “Urban Oasis” mural at the MacArthur Park Metro Station in Los Angeles, California.

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

LATINOPIA ART SONIA ROMERO 1

By Tia Tenopia on October 7, 2013

Sonia Romero is a graphic artist, muralist and print maker. The daughter of Chicano art pioneer Frank Romero, she has boldly set out on her own artistic trajectory. Her art includes stunning prints, canvases and public murals. Latinopia visited Sonia at her studio in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles where she spoke about […]

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

LATINOPIA ART GASPAR ENRÍQUEZ 1 “RETROSPECTIVE”

By Tia Tenopia on May 4, 2014

Gaspar Enríquez is a renowned Chicano artist whose airbrush portraits of barrio youth are haunting and memorable. Drawing from museums and collectors around the United States, in April 2014, the El Paso Museum of Art mounted a retrospective of Gaspar’s art titled Metaphors of the Barrio. Latinopia visited the exhibit and asked Gaspar what inspires […]

Category: Art, LATINOPIA ART

© 2021 latinopia.com · Pin It - Genesis - WordPress · Admin