In Allison Weir’s, Decolonizing Feminism: Transnational Feminism and Globalization, Weir states, “It appears that Western science is just discovering what Indigenous scientists have known for many thousands of years” (265). Indigenous scientists, astronomers, etc, have known what Western philosophers and scientists have known all along, if not before Western civilizations. This continued erasure of Indigenous thought and culture persists, and often, when Indigenous thought or science is made known by the West, it is the West who takes credit for these ideas, who makes it “real” or acceptable, legitimate knowledge.
In creating this photo essay, I sought images of Mexican Indigenous thought, history and representation that has been erased by colonization, and how Mexico’s art has sought to decolonize or at the least, have noted the brutal process of colonization and its effects in Mexican history. Images 1-4 are ones that I took while in Mexico this past summer that I believe speak of Mexican history and recognition of Indigenous erasure.
The first image is the Aztec calendar. The Aztecs formed various astronomical, scientific, and mathematical advancements that propelled them to become a grand civilization. However, in regards to how Aztec culture is spoken about, their achievements are viewed as secondary and their religion/spirituality is deduced to myth and deemed as strange. As Weir explained, Indigenous knowledge can often be written off as either primitive or romanticized, beautiful but not realistic. In Mexico, Aztec, or Mexica culture is placed in a period of past, not present, placing indigenous peoples in a far away land, when in reality Indigenous populations and practices are alive in Mexico (Image 4). Indigenous history, therefore, is one that needs to revisited and placed in a present context so that we may learn about them and their current struggles.
In understanding indigenous Mexican history, it is important to recognize how and when they have been erased by colonization. El Castillo de Chapultepec in Mexico City (Image 2) is a good example. The castle, situated upon a hill, was originally a sacred place and strategic site for the Aztecs due to the springs that supplied drinking water to the capital of the empire. During the time of viceroyalty, however, it became a place of rest and for the viceroys. Its use changed throughout the years, from military academy, to imperial residence, presidential home, and now as a museum. While the museum briefly speaks of its past as an indigenous site, it is its murals that speak of the erasure of the indigenous people. In the third image, I show a small detail of Juan O’ Gorman’s “Retablo de la Independencia” which displays Mexico’s history from 1784-1814. Below the image of a man who is tied to a column lies a paper which reads “It seems that the Spanish brought Christ to America to crucify the Indians.” In the mural, images of crucified Indigenous people, of violence and brutality show the reality of colonization in Mexico. In displaying this mural, Mexicans and other Latin Americans may visit and know how this relation connects to their descent-how their way of knowing (epistemology) has been shaped by this colonization and how we may serve to decolonize our spaces and not let entities situate themselves on indigenous land any longer.
The last image is of Yalitza Aparicio, an indigenous (Mixtec and Triqui) woman who starred in Alfonso Cuaron’s film, Roma, the first time in a long time, an indigenous woman was cast in a lead role and to be on the cover of Vogue Mexico. Unfortunately, she was the subject of racist attacks in Mexico due to colizationion’s legacy of racial hierarchy and colorism. Parodied by brown face, and called a “damn Indian” by a male Mexican actor, Yalitza’s fame placed Mexico’s racism front and center. In the media, she is portrayed like a Cinderella story: a famous white passing Mexican director “discovers” an indigenous Oaxacan woman, and is now enjoying the riches and fame of Hollywood. It is as if she was saved by Cuaron, when in fact she is a college educated woman working towards being teacher. She did him the favor of being in the movie, (not the other way around) and of halting her life to star in a movie about a domestic worker’s story in Mexico, in order to give indigenous people the representation they deserve in film, one they have long been neglected.
Therefore, these images, represent Mexico’s path of ingenious history, its erasure, and the dialogue Mexicans must have in regards to how they continue to treat their indigenous population with a white, colonial gaze.
Link to story: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu3_yymAb3v/
