Chicano studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chicano studies - Essay Example This is because circumstances forced them to isolate themselves from the mainstream Americans especially after the end of the Mexican American war. The geographical distance made it difficult for them to interact with the Native Americans and as a result most of them maintained their culture unpolluted. A good number of them adopted some aspects of the culture of the Americans and consequently brought confusion on the identity question. The culture of the Hispanics was mixed and up to today most of them portray aspects of the two cultures hence most of them lack a clear perception of their identity. The Hispanics have for long time been treated as second-class citizens as evidenced in the oppression and discrimination they have experienced especially economically. This discrimination has led to existence of a deep division among the communities with foreign origin and the natives. Consequently, this has fueled the rise of land activists groups among others in a bid to fight for their rights. Colonization is creating a colony where one group of people moves to a foreign land and dominates the local residents whereas decolonization is the withdrawal of the foreign dominance where the colony attains independence. The colonization of the Spanish Northern Frontier involves three major events where the New Mexico is first invaded and later a new conquest, which ultimately led to attainment of independence. The colonization of the Pueblo Indians involved a lot of violence, as villages were burnt, sacred places destroyed, murder of people especially the leaders and indoctrination of children. Colonization led to a lot of injustice on the colonies and it resulted to colonization of the mind where the Pueblo Indians could not make free decisions uninfluenced by the colonizers. The colonization of mind is the worst level of any form of colonization as it denies one the natural gift of free will that