LITR 4332: American Minority Literature

Cana Hauerland 

Mexican Americans and Native Americans: The Original Americans

Mexican Americans and Native Americans are labeled as minorities based on their involuntary participation to become a part of the United States of America. They were not brought to the US but were already residents, a.k.a. ethnic minorities, who were forced to change their cultures and status due to enforcement from the Europeans. Connections between these two ethnic groups lie within their residence prior to the European invasion, their lack of power to fight for their land and freedom, and their gain of power by creating unique narratives to carry on the history of their beliefs, feelings, and values.

Victor in Lone Ranger reveals the Native Americans experience of "mass murder, loss of language, and land rights" as a result of the Europeans overtaking their homeland (Alexie 49). Antonio defines the situation of the Mexican Americans after they encountered Europeans when he speaks of his father raging "against the town on the opposite side of the river which drained a man of his freedom" (Anaya 14). Not only can examples of these ethnic minorities' involuntary participation be presented in literature, but the minority concept can also be recognized in their names. Native Americans are natives of America, and Mexican Americans are from Mexico, a country that once covered a large majority of America's southern region.

The dominant culture established new rights that excluded the Mexican Americans and Native Americans, leaving them "choiceless and voiceless" (obj. 1b). Neither minority group had a voice in the Declaration of Independence, which left them no choice but to be overran by new government rules. The new government left these minority groups feeling helpless.  The poem "I Have Not Signed a Treaty With the US Government" illustrates these emotions of betrayal when the speaker reveals their voiceless and choiceless standpoint, "we signed / no treaty - WHAT are you still doing here - Go somewhere else". This poem defines a gaining of voice and choice for the Mexican Americans and Native Americans. Though the minority groups were denied the rights to participate in the creation of the Declaration of Independence, they acquired the right to speak in their literature and have been able to declare to the world their opinions, which are voices that are no longer hidden. 

Mexican Americans and Native American are usually defined by the color code with their darker skin tones, such as brown or red. Stereotypes and subjects are created and associated with Mexican Americans and Native Americans. Victor in Lone Ranger recalls the "white waitress who won't take an order, Tonto, [and] the Washington Redskins", defining the color code for Native Americans (49).  Antonio expresses the Mexican American color code by describing Ultima's face as "brown and wrinkled" (Anaya 11). Today, some Mexican Americans and many Native Americans are able to blend in with the dominant culture. The Native Americans blend in more possibly because of census regulations and the inner-racial relationships that began during the 1800s.

Alternative narratives have been developed by both Mexican Americans and Native Americans and have helped each establish a voice, record of their cultures, and arguments towards the dominant culture. The narratives also describe their religion and creation ideas. Alternative narrating allows Mexican Americans and Native Americans to maintain unionization with their past.

Native Americans attribute their culture to nature by having a unique creation story called "Earth Diver" that defines their divine connection to nature. The mother is highly associated with nature, as the Iroquois Creation Story describes a "turtle [who] increased every moment and became a considerable island of the earth" in order to ensure the woman was secured from the "terrors of the great waters" while she gave birth. Nature is important to Native Americans because it surrounded them before the European way of life took over. Now they must find a boundary between the two lives that have collided together by force. Kathryn, a Native American and descendent from Mescalero Apache states, "Most of the influence on my thoughts that I identify as "Indian" comes from connectedness with nature and reverence for mother earth as a central theme in my life plan".  This faith of Mother Nature surviving regardless of the changed way of life for Native Americans defines their continued fight. Victor in Lone Ranger declares, "Indians have a way of surviving", which is revealed in their original "trickster" attitudes and oral storytelling (Alexie 49). Maintaining a humorous personality is essential for the Native American to get over their forced failures, in addition to keeping an oral record of their losses.  Thomas the "Crazy Indian Storyteller" declares that his stories "are stories which can change or not change the world. It does not matter as long as I continue to tell the stories" (Alexie 66-67). Native Americans have lost some traditions, such as their creation story, but have gained survival in their "trickster" attitudes and oral story telling. The changing of the world is not essential to Native Americans, but the traditions of their culture are.

The alternative narrative for Mexican Americans is different from Native Americans because of their ambivalent attitude.  They often "face a problem that sometimes mirrors an immigrant culture more than minority cultures.  Many, if not most, modern Mexican Americans (the past 75 years or so) have come to the United States voluntarily.  However, because their native home is so close, many suffer a cultural anxiety" (2005 Final [KB]). Though ambivalence occurs, Mexican American culture may be distinguished through their strong religious faith and family values.  Mexican Americans reveal a story of  "The Virgin of Guadalupe",a syncretic religious figure that represents a "particular form of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, and mediates between humans and God the Father". Antonio's mother in Ultima prays to "Jesus, Maria y Jose" and continuously professes her religious beliefs (Anaya 16). Antonio's family cannot allow Ultima live alone at her age because "its not the way of [their] people" (Anaya 3).In addition to strong religious values, Mexican Americans also operate by maintaining respect and honesty because all they have is their good name. Antonio recalls, "a family [is] judged by good manners" (Anaya 11). Though some Mexican Americans migrated to the "new America" it cannot be forgotten that their country was the "new America". Therefore, the traditions and values of their culture once resided on the soil of "new America".