Why National Indigenous Peoples Day Matters
Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, and I want to bring your focus to it. This is not a push for my spandex products or services. This is me sharing with you my experience as a mestizo, on this day in which we remember what it means to value all kinds of human life and culture in a world that currently is moving faster and further into fascism and genocide.
I Am a Mestizo
Mexican identity is inherently wrapped around the concept of being a mestizo. It’s a lot to be thankful for. But on this special day, I want to use my voice to share this pride in having indigenous ancestors. As a mestizo and Mexican, I recognize that my ancestry includes both indigenous people of the Americas, as well as the that of the colonizers who stole so much from the indigenous cultures and peoples of this continent. I often encounter many Mexicans who delight in wanting to discover their “Spanish” roots and wanting to resemble white people, to be in the good graces of “whiteness”. I am grateful to say those are modes of thinking I fully reject. I have no desire to imitate, resemble or be approved of by colonizers.
I prefer to honor and prioritize the other half of who I am: the indigenous side of my own family roots. I carry complicated feelings of shame and anger at the ways in which the Americas were pillaged and its people and culture denigrated by European greed, the arrogance of the Catholic Church, and the colonizing modes of centering Europeans that still cause so much damage today. And I transform these complex feelings into action by using LED Queens as a way to advance ideas of equality and equity; and I also take action by using my gifts as a journalist, essayist and novelist. If you want to understand how my anti-colonial ideas play out in a book, you can start with 13 Secret Cities.
I wish I knew every name of my ancestors who once resided here in the Americas. But unfortunately, I don’t. Those ancestors include the Olmec, Toltec, Chichimec, Maya, Mexica and many more. Their essence remains inside of me, however, even if the specifics of that family history are gone with the sands of time. But I do carry intuitively the teachings of those ancestors. It’s why I continue to use my voice to call out colonialism, fascism and racism today, even if it means I spark controversy or people find it uncomfortable. When it comes to ending colonialism, I do not care about your comfort. What I care about is sharing historical facts of how the colonization efforts by multiple European cultures still damage our ability to live freely in a democratic society. To this day, people like myself and many of my peers are not seen as fully human, because of hoe deeply colonialism has impacted all parts of our culture.
About this Image
This is a photo of the archeological site of Uxmal in Mexico, near Merida. I took this photo myself when I visited the archeological site in 2018. It changed me forever, in ways that sometimes words can't even describe. The Maya were a rich and advanced culture, and though their civilization faded and collapsed in a big way before the colonization, their remaining ancestors (who still live today in the area) continue to be subjugated by colonialist and anti-indigenous thought and action.
What You Can Do Today
Learn about the history of colonialism. If you need a starter book, please read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Learn how deeply colonialism has hurt so many cultures around the world. Speak to your colleagues and peers about how it shows up today. Learn how it connects to fascism and do something about it. Speak up. Resist.