The plight and flight of the indigenous descendants – a fight for/from their roots. By: Nidia Tapia
We are not Hispanic, we are not Latino- we are Pre-Hispanic and so much more.
I am no academic or even think I know 1% of what I should know; but, I have heart and eyes that see.
I want to preface this by saying I in no way feel like an authority on anything- I only speak from heart and from a sense of duty to put my grain of sand into the pools of change, justice, and liberty. I believe in decentralized leadership- we must all do our part and be the head of our own revolution. Many times when people feel like authority figures- it comes from an ego drive and a thirst for other’s subservience. It is each of our duty to empower and reflect the principles we believe in.
So few understand how we could be a diaspora on our own homeland. So many of our own would be quick to want to assimilate as white- basking in their ties to the spanish, saying things like “can you believe that’s my Tio/Mom/Abuela/primo/etc, esta tan BLANCO.” Or “we’re not just Spanish, we have Aleman in our family tree too.” You hear this and you instantly cringe at their self-hate. They dye their hair blonde, contour with a foundation a few shades too light, hide from the sun, etc. You want to say, “You are beautiful in your earth color, your nopal is nothing to be ashamed of, your lineage has a more mighty history than you can imagine.” But instead, you decide to not entertain the antics. How do we come together as a people when we’re too exhausted to educate and this corporatocracy has conditioned us to attack instead of love/understand our people?
How did this come to be? How come people outside our ethnicity think we are one race in control of our nations and nobody acknowledges the oppression and colonization still taking place today? How the white Spaniards and outsiders are in control of our media portrayal. How they wanted to beat the melanin out of us? How they fund campaigns to convince, even the most brown of us, that we are a mestizo race that should check “white” on the census? How our black ancestry has been hidden and black so-called Latinos have been othered? How could we be anything separate from indigenous when the settlers raped our ancestors and attempted to destroy our culture?
As complex as it is- it is important to acknowledge and propagate the facts. As difficult as it is to summarize- it is our duty to educate our own and those around us who weave into our story.
Cristobal Colon has been anglicisized for the nation-state building purpose. He landed in what is now DR in 1492 and never set foot on the so-called US. He was an Italian hired by the Spanish Catholic crown when he was discovered by the Taínos of the Dominican Republic. When these Europeans first saw the indigenous they were amazed at their hygiene and sewage system; but of course, referred to it as a “savage practice”. On the other hand rather than bathing, early colonists believed that other practices, like regularly changing their undergarments, qualified as good hygiene. Biological warfare (no resistance to the uncleanliness of disease, smallpox, etc) and spiritual warfare (the indigenous people were a more spiritually advanced society- having no need for guns) led to what is referred to as the conquest of the indigenous population.
So for 528 years the indigenous have been fighting this colonization and resource-hungry machine that won’t stop until it has stripped the land of all it’s minerals. The settlers enslaved as many of the tribes as they could, raped, pillaged. Destroying and burning as many cultural artifacts as the colonizers could- there are only 4 Mayan books, called codices, left (that are known). It is believed our culture and artifacts have survived in elite families- being passed down as a family inheritance and entering the black market every so often. Ultimately: the mathematics, written language, and history was nearly destroyed or white-washed.
Fear based propaganda has existed since then- stripping us of our humanity for profit and power. For example- on May 22, 1520, Pedro De Alvarado massacred spiritual leaders of the so-called Aztec empire. The Spanish version of the incident claims the conquistadors intervened to prevent a ritual of human sacrifice in the Templo Mayor; the Aztec version says the Spaniards were enticed into action by the gold the Aztecs were wearing. While differing so on Alvarado’s specific motive, both accounts are in basic agreement that the celebrants were unarmed and that the massacre was without warning and unprovoked. This stark contrast is reminiscent of the way those in power can distort the truth to appeal to human fear- so that their lies can justify their inhuman behavior.
When Cristobal Colon took enslaved natives to Spain as slaves- he was chastised and at odds with the Queen of Spain- which likely led to a documented history of dehumanization of the indigenous people- lying about customs and spreading propaganda that would put fear in people’s hearts- enough fear for them to continue to enslave our ancestors and propel towards a mighty empire. This is reminiscent of today- as covid-19 was unaccomadating Americans- many were protesting the governments overstep of their power; yet, when the media painted all BLM protestors as “rioters” those same white Americans began calling for more government control- they were programmed to fear the movement and call for military intervention. This played into their now innate bias and racism.
Back to history: Spain then treated the Indigenous peoples of the Americas with extreme violence, death, torture, mutilation, rape, and enslavement.
The Aztec education system was abolished and replaced by a very limited church education. Even some foods associated with Mesoamerican religious practice, such as amaranth, were forbidden.
During the Conquest, Spaniards legally enslaved large numbers of natives – men, women and children – as booty of warfare, branding each individual on the cheek.
The Spanish conquerors in Mexico during the early colonial era lived off the labor of the indigenous peoples. The other discovery that perpetuated this system of indigenous forced labor were the extensive silver mines discovered at Potosi, in Higher Peru (now Bolivia) and other places in the Spanish empire in the New World that were worked for hundreds of years by forced native labor and contributed most of the wealth that flowed to Spain.
Lesser known is that New England colonies routinely shipped Native Americans as slaves to Barbados, Bermuda, Jamaica, the Azores, Spain and Tangier in North Africa.
In 1518 the Spanish king allowed the importation of slaves directly from Africa (previously they had been Spanish-born Africans), and the Atlantic slave trade to the western hemisphere began in earnest, finally ending over three centuries later with the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888.
Rape was rampant, and natives were intentionally starved, tortured, and whipped, were set upon by dogs, disemboweled by swords, burned at stakes, trampled by horses—atrocities “to which no chronicle could ever do justice.”
The casta system in latinoamerica amidst the genocide- led to the European beauty standards we see today. While at the time- marrying white was seen as survival- today we see it played out as a part of supremacy. The media in latinoamerica is predominately white and fair skinned- while a few roles are given to the majority brown skinned people as “service” or ignorant/comedic roles.
What we see today is a tip of the iceberg- our history has been romanticized and mostly hidden. Our vast fallen empires, culture, science, and mathematics have been destroyed or white-washed. Our children are threatened by oppression, low self-esteem, and loss of knowledge of self.
Our history is our future- to know ourselves we must do the work of claiming our history, bringing clarity to the lies that have been told by scholars, clergymen, and conquistadors in the name of expansion and power. You have to dig deep to find the documentation of the horrors done to our ancestors- but their fake science and history will have many sources on pre-Hispanic slavery and human sacrifice- the accomplishments and advancements of our people are hard to come by. Like egyptologists- there are people out there who’s sole purpose is to vilify and white-wash our past. They knew what they were doing when they burned books, artifacts, and destroyed our buildings- attempt at genocide of a whole continent. There are affluent people out there with our artifacts in their homes- being passed down and sealed from the world and US. We must form alliances to bring our truth to the light and in so doing- helping mama earth restore. We are the gate-keepers and must return to our POSTS– we are the light missing from the world and must return order/balance.
Learn yourself and then teach your brother. Listen to your sister and honor her dissertation.
We are the ancestors- I am your ancestor.
Peace.
