"De Donde Vengo": On Geographic Locations and Indigenous Immigrant Identity

• In Event: 81.014 - Native and Indigenous Conceptions of Time, Space, and Place

Abstract

This paper explores Indigenous Immigrant youth’s self-understanding of geographic locations tied to indigenous identification. Geographic location as exemplified in the youth’s used of “de donde vengo” (“where I come from”) was an important indicator the youth used for self-identifying and/or identifying others as indigenous. Data gathering methods consisted primarily of semi-structured interviews with the focal youth during the 2015-2016 academic school year. The analysis was informed by “indigenous peoplehood” and “Critical Latinx Indigeneities” analytics. The process of sense-making the youth engaged in exhibited particular kinds of understanding and awareness of indigenous identity particular to indigenous people. Understanding indigenous immigrant youth’s forms of self-identification can assist educators to become critically aware of the diversity of Latinx students they interact with.

Author

• David W Barillas Chón, University of Denver