Reflecting upon the Role of Memory in Meeting the Information Needs of Indigenous Mexican Migrants- The Memory Making Space of the Mixteco-Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)

Abstract

This article aims to identify the role of memory in meeting the information needs of Mexican indigenous populations who have migrated to the United States. Using archival repository material such as newspaper clippings and event flyers pertaining to the work of the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), I draw upon the ways that language and embodied experiences can be used by community organizations as mediators between diasporic groups and larger societies in which they are situated. Through this material, I conclude that cultural aspects like language and traditional festivals can be used to help provide economic and social assistance to migrant communities, as well as work to educate the greater community about diasporic groups, respectively. Institutions serving migrant communities like MICOP need to use cultural memory actively to support the diaspora in the present context as a means to preserve and ensure continuity of these traditions.