Clearly, rain is important in the desert southwest, which is why it is such a common and important thread in the two books.
The viewpoints of the two books could not be more diverse. De Baca writes of others in a somewhat detached third person. She does speak of herself at times, and her memories are warm and loving, and greatly detailed. However, this is not a story about her; it is a story about the land and the people. On the other hand, Wyaco's story is all about his interaction with his culture, and his attempts to blend into two different cultures relatively seamlessly. Reading them together gives a more complete view of New Mexican history, but they are very different in their styles and what they attempt to accomplish.
There are many other differences between these books, as well. De Baca's work covers an earlier point in New Mexican history, and concentrates on the Hispanic and white history of the area. In fact, her book never mentions the Zuni tribe even once, and the Zuni were one of the Native American tribes present in New Mexico long before the conquistadors conquered Mexico and took the area as their own. Her book covers the ranching history of the area, while Wyaco's book covers his birth to nearly present day. De Baca's work shows how at home she feels in New Mexico, and how she feels it "belongs" to her people. Wyaco, on the other hand, feels disenfranchised, unable to live as he wants in his own country because of prejudice and hatred by the Whites. He notes, "Our traditional enemies, the Navaho and the Hispanics, no longer threaten us. Everyone else is lumped under the term 'Anglo' throughout the southwest, though the Zuni called them 'Whites.'"
Perhaps the biggest commonality between these two books is their portrayal of new settlers coming into the region and wresting the area away from those natives already settled there. De Baca writes, "Cattle companies began to push forward and the New Mexican sheepman and small cattleman, who was usually a lone owner,...
The war was on between two contenders, neither of whom had a deed to the land."
Wyaco notes that Arabs now own the tourist shops in the big towns, and the Natives still speak Zuni amongst themselves.
Another major commonality is the way both writers must "bridge" two cultures during their lives. They both become part of both worlds. De Baca does not give up as much of her heritage to become a teacher, while Wyaco gives up almost all of his as he works at the Depot and moves up the ranks in government Civil Service jobs. He lives just like white Americans, with a mortgage, a house, bills, and even divorce. His life shows much more struggle to try to make it in the white man's world. Both the author's native worlds disappear by the end of their books. De Baca's family ranch is overrun by the cattle barons, and Wyaco's Zuni even gets electricity and modern forms of government. These books give very diverse views of specific times in New Mexican history. Without reading both, the history student will not have a full understanding of the many diverse cultures that still interact in New Mexico today. They are both essential reading to understand the state today as well as the foundation the state was built upon.
References
De Baca, Fabiola Cabeza. We Fed Them Cactus. 2nd ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1954.
Wyaco, Virgil. A Zuni Life: A Pueblo Indian in Two Worlds. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1998
Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, We Fed Them Cactus, 2nd ed. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1954) 2.
Virgil Wyaco, A Zuni Life: A Pueblo Indian in Two Worlds (Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1998), 94.
De Baca, We Fed Them Cactus, 12.
Wyaco, A Zuni Life: A Pueblo Indian in Two Worlds 3.
Wyaco, A Zuni Life: A Pueblo Indian in Two Worlds, 54.
De Baca, We Fed Them Cactus, 50.
