Job Discussion Forums

[lozwich]

[MixtecaMike]

[moonraven]

I am from one of the Canadian tribes, but I was born and "grew up" in the US, so am more comfortable commenting on the treatment of Native peoples and their languages in the US than I am about the situation in Canada--although I can say that the Canadian government is clearly much more willing to invest itself in the co-existence of cultures, if not in a fully pluricultural society (French and English are the official languages of Canada, for example--not French, English and Iroquois....), and has allowed--after several fierce battles--some Native Canadians to reclaim some big chunks of ancestral lands (too bad most of them are frozen solid 11 months out of the year, but....reminds me of one of Juan Rulfo's stories in "El llano en llamas", where the campesinos were given worthless land....)

In the US, when I was growing up many Native Americans were trying to "pass" for white. My great-grandparents did that when they brought their then 10 children across the border into the US (my grandfather was born in the US.) They group I hung out with when I started university studies in Seattle included 3 Arapaho women from Wyoming, and 2 women of mixed Asian and Polynesian origen from Hawaii--one of the Arapaho women sometimes tried to "pass". We all became friends immediately and nobody said anything upfront about our minority condition being what brought us together. But that was the connection, and it was the connection everywhere I lived. in the US. When I met an Apache War Chief in Albuquerque, his first question to me was "What tribe are you from?" Interesting, considering I have had blond hair since I was a baby....

I spent 10 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, before moving to Mexico. Santa Fe touts itself as multicultural. It isn't. Although for many years the state legislative sessions were conducted in both English and Spanish, kids who spoke Spanish on school premises--private or public--were physically punished. Outside of Santa Fe, on the reservations, children were forced to abandon their first languages--Tewa or Navajo, for example--as part of the process of indoctrinating them into a shadowy semblance of the dominant culture. The message in both cases was clear: that is was shameful to speak the languages of "conquered" people.

Until very recently, Mexico dealt with its speakers of indigenous languages in the same way. Now, with scholars warning that some of the 50 plus languages in Mexico are about to become extinct, the government (and the dominant mestizo culture--a culture that denies its indigenous components) has allowed for a few pesos for preservation of indigenous languages. A few books are published every year in Spanish and an indigenous languages--mostly books of poems, which are seen as relatively non-threatening and apolitical by the powers that be. Bilingual schools in southern Mexico still have the agenda of eradicating the birth culture of their students and incorporating them into the society dominated by Spanish speakers. The EZLN's focus on the rights of indigenous people has struck more responsive chords in Europe than in Mexico's "civil society"--and Fox's 15 mnute solution to the Chiapas problem was to encourage the congress in 2001 to enact a counter-reform to the Constitution of Mexico, which provided fewer rights for indigenous people than several state consitutions!

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[delacosta]

Now this might piss some people off but here goes anyways: whenever I get called a 'gringo', I make it a point to say 'oye guey, soy canadiense,no gringo!' ANd it's pretty cool to see the immediate change in attitude that takes place. What was somewhat threatening or hostile changes into something much more accepting, often accompanied by an apology...and in the best of cases an invitation to share a beer!
And as far as reverse racism goes I'm definitely aware of a certain amount of respect that I get for being white and educated, especially anongst women in search of a potential life-mate. I do have a girfriend who is very much a 'morena', not light skinned at all. Her family comes from very humble begginings, from a small town in Michoacan, basically semi prosperous ranchero peasants who worked the land. As the story goes the grandfather- a notorious womanizer, drunkard and gambler, had to leave town rather suddenly one day(you know, the ususal: threat of death) and in doing so uprooted the whole family and off they went to the big city, DF that is. This was in the late sixties and they did very well for themselves, moving up the social and financial ladder. But much more the financial than the social-because they were from the provincia and were of course dark skinned, not the right combo to make it into DF society. They were able to send their three daughters to very good schools( read expensive, its incredible to see just how much Mexican parents will sacrifice for their children's education-take heed those of you thinking of coming to teach english here!). Of course the hope being that this ascention of the 'class ladder' would continue with their offspring. I don't think this sad middle class idea of 'moving on up' is limited in any way to Mexico, but perhaps in it's just at times more obvious to see it in action here.
Anyways...I know that me being her boyfriend, and in her family's eyes at least, potential husband, is one more step up the social ladder. In other words in their eyes I'm quite the find! And trust you me I aint no find fer no one! I mean of course for anyone seaking to move up some sort of social/economic ladder! Of which I have less than zero interest in doing-been there done that ,ended up in, how to put it-hell?
THe point being that if I was a dark skinned mexican in my financial situation I know that I would not be so welcome into their family fold. They find it ammusing that I want to go in the reverse direction in which they aspire to. We're in the proces of buying a littlle ranchito and I'm trying to become self sufficient in growing my own organic food. I'm planning on building a cob (ie.mud ) home. I have chickens in my yard. I regularly have to remove scorpions and other nasties from my room. When it rains the dirt road that I live on washes out. I walk by burros on the way to work. I live what they left behind for the good life. Really they don't understand but being the warm hearted Mexicans that they are I guess they recognize 'un buen coraz�n'. But to be honest I don't know if they would be so accepting if I weren't white and educated and of course, Canadian! Sorry for the jab there, I can't help it! I'm not actually patriotic at all, and don't really consider myself to be a citizen of any country, I pledge alleigance to no one, especially not the queen of england!
As the song goes' imagine all the people....'

[MixtecaMike]

delacosta, I see you're at Zipolite, is this so you can show off your REALLY white bits?

[delacosta]

Now come on, do you think I'd dare show off my really white bits on a beach where my students frequent?
We had four lovely young Irish lasses teaching here for a while a few years back and they went topless when they first arrived. Very, very silly move. They were hit on non-stop after that and in the ignorant non-subtle way in which young Mexican males are capable of.
The administration had to call them in and told them in no uncertain terms that they could not go topless and would be fired if this continued as it was considered unprofessional behavior that would put the uni in a poor light.
So I had to take them to the secret secluded coves where one can bathe completely 'free', both of clothes and gawkers. Quite gentlemanly of me wouldn't you say?