New Mexico: Mexican-Americans and Native

New Mexico: Mexican-Americans and Native Americans

New Mexico is particularly recognized for the multitude of cultures residing within its borders. Although a great deal of people cannot tell the difference between Native Americans and Mexican-Americans, these two ethnic groups are actually very different in culture and traditions. The most plausible reason for which the masses find it difficult to distinguish between Mexicans Americans in New Mexico and Native Americans in New Mexico is because the two ethnic groups are very similarly in genetics. Also, the fact that both groups have their origins on the American continent contributes to their association.

In order for most people to understand how Mexican-Americans are different from Native Americans one can take into consideration Hispanics and Amerindians. Mexican-Americans are Hispanic individuals with their roots in a Spanish-speaking country of Latin America. In contrast, Native Americans are people who have their roots in countries speaking indigenous languages (New Mexico - Ethnic groups).

The Amerindian population in New Mexico is approximately 173,000, which is about 9.5% of the total number of individuals residing in the state. The reason for which the Hispanic population in the state is close to 765,000 (42.1 of the state's population) is that the territory was inhabited by Spanish until 1912, when it officially got annexed by the United States (New Mexico - Ethnic groups).

Both ethnic groups are similar through the fact that they resisted Anglo dominance at certain moments in history. Even if the Spanish-oriented cultural values in New Mexico are younger that those belonging to Native Americans, they both survived through time in spite of the fact that the state is presently part of an Anglo-speaking country.

When taking into consideration educational institutes specially structured to fit each of the two cultures, one can find that the American government has shown more interest in presenting Hispanics with opportunities to attend schools, colleges, and institutes by using bilingual school programs (Nunez-Janes, 2002). Less privileged, Native Americans are mostly required to attend classes taught in English, as there are little to no schools offering Amerindian individuals the chance to be taught in their native languages (Guillory & Wolverton, 2008). All things considered, both ethnic groups have access to learning in their own language (Article 23).

Their cultural values are known to be an impediment for Amerindians in their struggle to integrate society. Compared to the total number of Indians in the state of New Mexico, the ones who managed to raise their capital notably is very small. Even with that, seeing that there are Amerindians in the state who were not brought down by their background in doing business, it becomes obvious that the ethnic group has good business-doing abilities but most Native Americans are ill-prepared and thus show reluctance in engaging in money making activities other than low-income jobs (Pinel, 2007).

Although most Native American groups were chased from the territories they previously owned, those in New Mexico were more successful in protecting their lands. The 1680 Pueblo Revolt is an event Native Americans in New Mexico often relate to when they consider their cultural pride (Trigg, 2004).

Resentment toward Hispanics grew constantly from their arrival in New Mexico. Amerindians in the present day are also reluctant to accept Hispanic customs and their traditions have not changed much in the last centuries (Silverberg, 1970, p. 70).

Politics is a domain rarely dealt with by Native Americans in New Mexico, mostly because of the discrimination they risk facing as a result of joining politics in an Anglo-dominant government and because they are aware they have limited chances to occupy a high position in the state administration. The Civil Rights Division has approached this condition and emphasized that the state Administration should not act inequitable toward Native Americans who want to engage in performing politics (CASES RAISING CLAIMS UNDER SECTION 2 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT). Mexican-Americans have a larger contribution to the New Mexico political scene, even with the fact that their authority is often oppressed by the government (Gomez, 2000).

In spite of the fact that they receive little support from society in dealing with their organizational difficulties, Native American communities in New Mexico succeed in keeping their integrity through the values they promote (Norcini, 2005). Mexican-Americans are also successful in keeping their convictions by employing strong determination and reluctance when it comes to an uncooperative government. (Blanton, 2006)

The New Mexico landscape is a hallmark for Native Americans and Mexican-Americans alike, given the fact that the geographical elements in the area are characteristic for the two cultures. (Blake, 1999, p. 487)

Works cited:

1. Blake, K. "Sacred and Secular Landscape Symbolism at Mount Taylor, New Mexico," Journal of the Southwest 41.4 (1999): 487.

2. Blanton, C.K. "George I. Sanchez, Ideology and Whiteness in the Making of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement, 1930-1960," Journal of Southern History 72.3 (2006).

3. Gomez, L.E. "Race, Colonialism, and Criminal Law: Mexicans and the American Criminal Justice System in Territorial New Mexico," Law & Society Review 34.4 (2000).

4. Griesbach, D."Resilience as Resistance: Representing Hispanic New Mexico to the Federal Writers' Project in Lou Sage Batchen's Placitas Stories," MELUS 32.1 (2007)