Last Saturday I attended a meeting in Denver, organized by a Mexican-American group, about the consequences affecting us even today of the Guadalupe-Hildago Treaty, signed in 1848 between Mexico and the United States after the war between the two countries.
Because of that war and that treaty –written mostly by American representatives- Mexico lost as much as 55 percent of its territory, and thousands of Mexican citizens were suddenly living under a new, foreign government.
During the meeting, one of the presenters indicated that Article X of the treaty, about recognizing land, properties, and water rights of former Mexican citizens, was deleted by the American Senate a short time after the treaty was signed.
In fact, not only those rights were never recognized, but other previsions, including the recognition of the language and culture of those former Mexican citizens, were also deleted.
Two other articles, VIII and IX, were modified in such a way that it became very difficult for Mexicans to become American citizen, even if they were living inside American territory.
According to the organizers of the meeting that I attended, we can still see in today’s Congress a similar attitude towards immigrants to the attitude shown by the American Senate more than a century and a half ago. In fact, they think there is a “historical connection” between the two attitudes.
Whatever the case, because of the treaty, a large number of people were unable to express their traditions and their past, to know their ancestors and to keep their land. Before somebody mistakenly thinks I am advocating for something I am not, let me emphasize I am not in favor of recreating the past, nor I propose to forget our current borders and present challenges.
What I propose is to think, as deep as we can, about this unfortunate of deculturalization of a large group of people. Is there anything worst that losing your own cultural identity to the point of not knowing who you really are, and therefore even “hating” yourself? Yes, there is something worst. It is not even remembering you are human.
Somebody may think such a statement is quite an exaggeration, but the fact is that’s what is being proposed, perhaps even unknowingly, but a well-known and respected organization in Colorado dedicated to the education of preschoolers.
In its most recent newsletter, this organization suggests parents should spend as much time as possible teaching preschoolers about scientific principles and ideas, for example, at dinnertime, while shopping, or even when the little ones are in the bathtub.
It also suggests parents with little scientific knowledge should learn enough science to teach their children.
One thing is to be in a situation when you can’t use your language or express your culture. Another thing is to teach our children from their early childhood that science is the only tradition they should trust.
Which option is more dehumanizing, losing your cultural identity or losing your human identity? Why should we accept one or the other?