Abstract
For more than 3500 years, since Olmec times (1500–400 BC), the peoples of Mesoamerica have shared with one another a profound way of living involving a deep understanding of the human body and of land and cosmology. As it stands, healing ways of knowing that depend on medicinal plants, the Earth’s elements, and knowledge of the stars are still intact. The Indigenous Xicana/o/xs who belong to many of the mobile tribes of Mesoamerica share a long genealogical history of cultivating and sustaining their Native American rituals, which was weakened in Mexico and the United States during various periods of colonization. This special edition essay sheds light on the story of Quetzalcoatl and the Venus Star as a familial place of Xicana/o/x belonging and practice. To do so, we rely on the archaeological interpretation of these two entities as one may get to know them through artifacts, monuments, and ethnographic accounts, of which some date to Mesoamerica’s Formative period (1500–400 BC). Throughout this paper, ancestral medicine ways are shown to help cultivate positive health, learning, and community. Such cosmic knowledge is poorly understood, yet it may further culturally relevant education and the treatment of the rampant health disparities in communities of Mesoamerican ancestry living in the United States. The values of and insights into Indigenous Xicana/o/x knowledge and identity conclude this essay.
Highlights
The Indigenous Xicana/o/x Identity In the process of cultivating their relationship to both the land and cosmology, Indigenous Xicana/o/x educators (IXEs) have wrestled with how to effectively engage the fast-growing and heterogeneous Latina/o population (Flores 2017) while considering the group’s high prevalence for mental health disparities (Diaz and Fenning 2017; Lisotto 2017; Lopez et al 2012), as well as their own health and well-being challenges while working in spaces of learning
We begin by highlighting the racist legacy of white supremacy and colonialism in the United States, Mexico, and Central America (e.g., Sánchez 2020) that resulted in the loss of Indigenous peoples’ self-determination through persistent waves of trauma and violence. We argue that it is through the building and sustainment of ancestral knowledge of land and cosmology that we can re-embrace our Indigenous Xicana/o/x identity (e.g., Zepeda 2020), and we wish to further the intersectional learning and the in situ ritual and performance of teachers who embrace such an identity in line with the teachings that surface when humans and the land are in equilibrium
We focus on one area that is important to the Xicanx experience and that has received little attention in spaces of learning—-the story of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, and their conjunction with the planet Venus
Summary
The Indigenous Xicana/o/x Identity In the process of cultivating their relationship to both the land and cosmology, Indigenous Xicana/o/x educators (IXEs) have wrestled with how to effectively engage the fast-growing and heterogeneous Latina/o population (Flores 2017) while considering the group’s high prevalence for mental health disparities (Diaz and Fenning 2017; Lisotto 2017; Lopez et al 2012), as well as their own health and well-being challenges while working in spaces of learning (see Caballero 2019; Toscano 2016; Urrieta 2017, 2019; Zepeda 2020). In moving forward, it is important to clarify that despite criticism from Natives and non-Natives who refuse to acknowledge the Xicanx tribe as a Native American group (see Cotera and Saldaña-Portillo 2015; Pulido 2015), Xicanx indigeneity rests firmly on four criteria: (1) a significant genetic association with Native American mtDNA haplogroups (A–D and X) (Kumar et al 2011); (2) a reliance on a maíz diet and the relevant stories of creation (Rodríguez 2014, 2017); (3) familial and ceremonial ties to tribal peoples of the Americas (Avila and Parker 1999; Forbes 1973; Gonzales 2012); and (4) a continuous and intimate relationship with land and cosmology through ritual and ceremony (Medina and Gonzales 2019; Toscano 2016) These tenets should be embraced, studied, and modeled to help all people live better lives. From Perú to Alaska, Indigenous peoples of the Americas share many common ways of being
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