Indigenous to Where? Homelands and nation (pueblo) in Indigenous Latinx studies

Ybarra, Megan. 2023. "Indigenous to Where? Homelands and nation (pueblo) in Indigenous Latinx studies."  Latino Studies 21:22-41.

This paper centers the importance of homelands in the distinction between indigeneity and Latinidades, or multiple Latinx identities. I emphasize the political nature of indigeneity, where the nation (pueblo) has the collective right to determine who is a member of their group. Latinidades, on the other hand, emerged as a racialized category under US imperialism and immigration. In thinking through solidarity work with Q’eqchi’ migrants who seek asylum in the US as part of a broader strategy to recuperate their homelands, I explore this question: Why do some families, like mine, cease to be Indigenous, while others endure? What does this mean for intergenerational identity claims? I identify a split between backward-looking claims to distant ancestry and forward-looking claims grounded in relationality with homelands and Indigenous kin. In conclusion, I invite Latino studies scholars to move beyond individualized identities and develop solidarities grounded on constellations of kinship across Abiayala.

Status of Research
Completed/published
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