Chicana/Latina Spirit-Informed Inquiry: Lessons From Chicana/Latina Ancestors in California State Archives

• In Event: Rupturing the White Gaze: Centering Chicana/Latina Feminista Methodologies and Epistemologies in Qualitative Research

Abstract

Objectives
In 1909, California became the third state to embark on a political eugenic regime that was designed to cage, control, and punish those deemed eugenically “unfit.” This paper contends that these eugenic-based policies were not just a by-product of contemporary scientific thought but were deeply rooted in racial prejudice. Mexican-origin women, in particular, were ensnared by a web of stereotypes that depicted them as intellectually inadequate, morally corrupt, and sexually deviant. These characterizations provided a seemingly scientific veneer to the institutionalized racism, sexism, and xenophobia of the era and has set a foundation of the contemporary institutional (mis)treatment of Chicana/Latina women .
The objectives of the paper are to :
Transform Historical Insight into Future Wisdom: Show how understanding this specific historical context and guidance from the dead can provide valuable insights for addressing ongoing issues of racial and gender injustice in society.
Activate Chicana/Latina Action and Awareness: Encourage future research and action in the field of education by revealing the potential of incorporating Chicana/Latina spiritual wisdom and ancestral voices in understanding social phenomena.
Theoretical Framework & Methods
This paper employs a Chicana feminist epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998) as a theoretical prism to elucidate the complex intersection of gender, race, and class that defined the lived experiences of Mexican-origin women targeted by the eugenic policies. In stark contrast to state-dominant narratives that decontextualize these women's experiences, this framework enables us to meticulously unpack the layers of systemic oppression they faced. Alongside the state archival material explored, oral histories were facilitated with descendants of victims of eugenic violence.
Findings & Scholarly Significance
A countermemory (Foucault, 1977) was collaboratively birthed as an effort to contest and reframe the historical narrative pushed forward by state archives. It shifted the process of uncovering and uplifting versions of these women that had been eclipsed by eugenic violence. By integrating familial narratives of those in the after into the larger discourse, an urgent need was activated to decentralize authority, challenge traditional power structures, and remove ghosts encountered in archives from the state’s ownership. Given that institutional archives often carry epistemological underpinnings steeped in white supremacy and colonial violence, this paper uplifts anti-eugenic methodological and theoretical possibilities when engaging with state archives. Part of my quest involves acknowledging the ethical responsibilities entailed in cherishing and elevating the voices of those who have passed, those immortalized in the archives. In this journey, I find my guide in the Spirit, as I counter the institutional limitations placed on the bodies and memories of Mexican-origin women who were victims of brutal eugenic regimes in the American Southwest. I draw from visceral experiences with the archive to reshape knowledge and move us closer to healing the violence and trauma perpetually reproduced at academic archival institutions.

Author

• Gabriela G. Corona Valencia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign