Revered, Reappropriated, Rejected: The Development of Aztlán from the 1960s to the Present Open Access

Abstract

This thesis analyses the development of the concept Aztlán from its creation in 1969 to the present. Aztlán is the mythological concept that the Aztecs originated from what is now the U.S. Southwest before migrating south. The concept was created during the Chicano Movement to promote Chicanx pride and combat the racist idea that Chicanx do not belong in the U.S. Yet, despite such positive intentions in its creation, the concept has faced backlash due to problematic notions that it reinforces related to mestizaje, masculinity, the heteropatriarchy, and appropriation, resulting in an evolution of the concept over time. In chapter one, I argue that Aztlán originated to prioritize heterosexual males of a mestizo identity, seen through the epic poem “I am Joaquín” by Rodolfo Gonzales and the novel Heart of Aztlán by Rudolfo Anaya. Chapter two then shifts to the 1980s, as I analyze how feminist scholars attempted to reappropriate the concept to make it more inclusive, evidenced by Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza. I argue that this reappropriation does not sufficiently account for the notions of settler colonialism that Aztlán perpetuates by excluding certain Indigenous groups. In chapter three, I then analyze the evolution of Aztlán in the 1990s and into the present. I argue that the simultaneous appropriation and erasure of Indigenous cultures embedded in Aztlán is evident through an analysis of the performance art piece Couple in the Cage: Two Amerindians Visit the West (1992) by Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco. Though the piece criticizes the use of Indigenous bodies for public consumption, Instagram posts reveal that many Chicanx people continue to perpetuate the same appropriation of Indigenous cultures that Gómez-Peña and Fusco criticize.

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………...………………………………...………………… 1

Chapter 1: Aztlán as a Male Dominated Concept ……………………………………………… 10

Chapter 2: Anzaldúa’s Path to a More Inclusive Aztlán ……………………………………….. 29

Chapter 3: The Appropriation of Indigenous Peoples Rooted in Aztlán ………………………. 50

Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 70

Conclusion …............................................................................................................................... 73

Non-Printed Sources …………………………………………………………............................ 78

Bibliography ………………………………...………………………………...……………….. 79

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Latin American Studies Native American Studies
Keyword	Aztlán Social Media Anzaldúa Mestizaje Chicanx Indigeneity Latinx
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Guidotti-Hernández, Nicole M., Emory University
Committee Members	Delgado Moya, Sergio, Emory University Suhr-Sytsma, Mandy, Emory University

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