Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The heart of Chicano history: Reies López Tijerina as a memory entrepreneur

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17541320802063570

1754-1336

Lorena Oropeza,

Archaeology and Natural History

Abstract The essay re‐examines the role of Reies López Tijerina, a New Mexican land‐grant leader and founder of the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, whose members are best known for their armed takeover of the Rio Arriba Courthouse in 1967. This essay argues, however, that Tijerina’s greatest significance was as a “memory entrepreneur,” that is, someone who popularizes a long‐suppressed version of the past, in this case, the history of land loss among Spanish‐speaking New Mexicans. Aliancistas put their version of the past on display in 1966 when they occupied the Carson National Forest’s Echo Amphitheater campground on the basis of long‐forgotten land claims. Keywords: Reies López TijerinaAlianza FederalEcho Amphitheatermemory entrepreneurNew Mexicoland grant Acknowledgements My thanks to David Correia, Gabriela Arredondo, Victoria Langland, Lydia Otero, Dionne Espinoza, Mike Foley, Jeremy Varon, one anonymous reader, and, most especially, Lucy G. Barber, for their helpful suggestions. Notes 1. See Malcolm Ebright’s work, especially Land Grants and Lawsuits in Northern New Mexico. 2. Dale Sonnenberg, an independent documentary filmmaker, recorded Tijerina’s words. The tape is in his possession. 3. Sonnenberg tape. 4. Nabokov, Tijerina and the Courthouse Raid; Gardner, Grito!: Reies Tijerina and the New Mexico Land War. 5. See also Blawis, Tijerina and the Land Grants; Jenkinson, Tijerina: Land Grant Conflict in New Mexico; and contemporary media reports in such prominent publications as Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. 6. Today Tijerina’s political interests span the gamut from the history of ancient Babylon to what he sees as the inevitability of nuclear holocaust. Unfortunately, anti‐Semitism appears to be the common thread. For a careful tracing of his views on this topic rooted in his understanding of history since biblical times, see Busto, King Tiger, 184–8. Regarding more recent events, in taped conversations with the author in August 2007, Tijerina pointed out that Jewish scientists had played key roles in developing the atom bomb, which he argued was a tool to destroy Christianity. Less known but still somewhat of an open secret in New Mexico, Tijerina’s eldest daughter, Rose, a courthouse raider and an active member of the Alianza, maintains that her father sexually molested her when she was a teenager. She repeated these accusations in taped oral history interviews with the author during the fall of 2006. All interviews are in the author’s possession. 7. In 1978, Tijerina published his own biography, Mi Lucha por la Tierra, in Mexico. The abridged English translation, They Called Me King Tiger, appeared in 2000. As I was completing this article, Boubet’s “Hero Making in El Movimiento: Reies López Tijerina” was published in the journal Aztlán. Tracing Tijerina’s complicated relationship with Chicano movement nationalists, Boubet argued that the courthouse raid transformed Tijerina into a movement hero and revolutionary persona. I also discovered Kosek’s “Deep Roots and Long Shadows: The Cultural Politics of Memory and Longing in New Mexico” after I wrote a draft of this essay. Examining similar themes, Kosek, an anthropologist, revisited some of his arguments in Understories. Only Busto directly challenges the overwhelming emphasis upon the courthouse raid in a book that explores Tijerina’s spiritual life. Busto mentions the Coyote home fire in King Tiger, 76. 8. Jelin, State Repression and the Labors of Memory, 33. A 1985 Argentine film about the repercussions of human‐rights abuses in that country was entitled La Historia Oficial. 9. “La Voz de la Justicia” script, April 23, 1965, Box 1, Folder 36, Reies López Tijerina Papers, Center for Southwest Research (henceforth CSWR), Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico. 10. Rosenbaum, Mexicano Resistance in the Southwest; Arrellano, “The People’s Movement.” 11. Griswold del Castillo, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 132–3. 12. Nieto‐Phillips, “Spanish American Ethnic Identity,” 123. 13. Montgomery, “The Trap of Race and Memory.” 14. The editorial is quoted in “Portrayal of Courthouse Raid Still Stirs Anger,” newspaper clipping in Reies López Tijerina Vertical File, CSWR. 15. Knowlton, “Spanish and Mexican Land Grants: A Key to the Past,” a 1989 conference paper, in Knowlton Vertical File, CSWR. 16. Knowlton, “Spanish American Protest Movements in Northern New Mexico,” n.d., Knowlton vertical file. 17. Valley News, August 27, 1964, clipping found in Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 18. New Mexican, September 25, 1965. 19. Busto, The Religious Vision, 41–3, 115–41; Gardner, Grito!: Reies Tijerina, 30–47; author’s oral history interview with Maria Escobar Chavez, November 11, 2006, in author’s possession; paperwork pertaining to Tijerina’s arrest in Arizona can be found in Box 1, Folder labeled “mug shots,” Attorney General Collection, Eloy Blea Papers, New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (henceforth NMSRCA), Santa Fe, New Mexico. 20. Frances L. Swadesh, “Legal Harassment and Unequal Justice for Hispanos in New Mexico,” Box 2, Folder 19, Peter Nabokov Papers, CSWR. 21. Divorce decree, Box 55, Folder 9, Tijerina Papers. In 2006, Maria insisted that the divorce was Tijerina’s idea. 22. Nabokov, Tijerina and the Courthouse Raid, 213–14; Busto, The Religious Vision, 55. 23. “Confesiones Personales,” May 7, 1965, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. The term “santa mission” appears in an April 21, 1965 document and the term “santa crusada” appears in a July 7, 1965 document, both in Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 24. Document dated 1966, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 25. KLOS radio script, “Mensaje a todos los herederos,” no date, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 26. Document dated June 12, 1963, Box 2, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 27. For the treaty’s text, see Vargas, Major Problems in Mexican American History, 136. 28. Dunbar‐Ortiz, Roots of Resistance, 84; Ebright, The Tierra Amarilla Land Grant. 29. See April 1966 plea for dues and “Boletin de Información” dated 1963/1964, both in Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 30. “Demands of the Indo‐Hispano People,” 1966, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 31. The premier statement of Chicano nationalism, the 1969 Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, declared Chicanos to be a “bronze people” seeking independence for their “mestizo nation.” The plan is easily found on the Web. Tijerina’s own views on this topic shifted over the decades, Busto, The Religious Vision, 189–91. 32. In mentioning these alliances, my analysis differs from that of Kosek, who suggested that Hispanos who have premised their identity on lost land have conveniently forgotten Spanish conquest; Kosek, “Deep Roots and Long Shadows,” 352. For an alternative view, see Mariscal, Brown‐Eyed Children of the Sun, 190. 33. Albuquerque Journal, October 6, 1969. 34. Petition to Campbell, July 1, 1966, Box 80, Folder 1, Myra Ellen Jenkins Collection, Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado. 35. Two‐page, typed document, n.d., Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 36. Hand‐drawn bond, Box 1, Folder 8, Tijerina Papers. An October 29, 1965 News Chieftain column by Tijerina mentions the Supreme Court strategy. 37. “Boletin de Información,” March 15, 1964, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 38. “Demands of the Indo‐Hispano People.” 39. Nabokov, Tijerina and the Courthouse Raid, 204–5; Busto, The Religious Vision, 48. 40. Sheet labeled “1964 file,” Box 1, Folder 1 and “Para Todo Heredero,” June 12, 1963, Box 2, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 41. Tijerina, Mi Lucha, 109–10. 42. See also Correia, “‘Rousers of the Rabble.’” 43. Memo, no author’s name, Box 1, Folder “mug shots,” Blea Papers. 44. February 2, 1963 minutes, Box 1, Folder 14, Tijerina Papers. 45. Transcript dated September 24, no year, Box 1, Folder 37, Tijerina Papers. 46. El Paso Herald Post, August 7, 1968. 47. See two articles written by Alan Stang for American Opinion, “War on Poverty Supports Castroite Terrorists” and “New Mexico: The Coming Guerilla War.” 48. For Tijerina’s alliance building with African‐American leaders, see Mariscal, Brown‐Eyed Children, 185–202. 49. Document dated September 13, 1963, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 50. Document dated 1963/1964, although it speaks about the Johnson administration’s social programs. Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 51. Love, “La Raza: Mexican Americans in Rebellion,” from TRANaction (1969), reprinted in Simmen, Pain and Promise, 283. 52. News clipping from Washington Post, no date, no author, Box 59, Folder entitled, “Land Grant Misc.,” Gov. David Cargo Papers, NMSRCA. 53. New Mexican, February 4, 1969. 54. Document dated May 19, 1965, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 55. Oral history interviews with Gregorita and Cruz Aguilar, September 1, 2007, Plaza Blanca, New Mexico, conducted by the author; in the author’s possession. 56. “Final Decree and Permanent Restraining Order,” October 20, 1964, Box 80, Folder 1, Jenkins Collection; New Mexican, October 18, 1964. 57. Along with Ebright’s works, see Montoya, Translating Property. 58. In her interview, Gregorita Aguilar expressed resentment toward Kenneth Heron, a local landowner originally from the Denver area. 59. Ebright, Land Grants, 48–9. 60. New Mexican, July 22, 1979. 61. William deBuys, Enchantment and Exploitation, 175–90, 241. 62. In 1969, the US National Forest listed the Carson National Forest at 1,541,343 acres and the Santa Fe at 1,572,940; Land Areas of the National Forests. 63. “Effect of Federal Programs on Rural America,” June 21, 1967, 441–69. See also El Paso Times, June 16, 1967. 64. deBuys makes this point in Enchantment and Exploitation, 9. 65. “Violación del Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo,” Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 66. Tobias Leyba, “My Cow, She Was Almost Arrested,” El Grito del Norte, April 29, 1970. 67. The episode is recounted in Reade, “La Voz del Pueblo.” 68. Author’s interview with Valentina Valdez, August 22, 1997, Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico; in the author’s possession; Reade, “La Voz del Pueblo,” 65, 67. 69. Although membership estimates vary greatly, “more than 3000” was achieved by counting names on membership lists, boxes 5–15, Tijerina Papers. The New York Times, June 4, 1967, cites a similar number. A January 1965 list showed 130 grants represented by the Alianza, Box 1, Folder 9, Tijerina papers. 70. Campbell letter to Lyndon B. Johnson, July 22, 1966, Box 80, Folder 1, Jenkins collection. 71. Albuquerque Journal, July 3, 1966; New Mexican, July 11, 1966; Tijerina, Mi Lucha, 125. See also flier in Tijerina Papers, Box 1, Folder 33, which asserted that “as much as we hate to March and Demonstrate,” aliancistas were left with no other choice. 72. Marginalia signed JMC (Jack M. Campbell) on Memo to Governor from Thomas G. Trotter, October 5, 1964, Box 80, Folder 1, Jenkins Collection. 73. Tellingly, the headline to her obituary read: “Myra Ellen Jenkins, 76, safeguarded the state’s history,” Albuquerque Journal, November 11, 1987. She became state historian in 1968. 74. Jenkins, memo to Campbell, July 11, 1966, Box 7, Untitled Folder, Blea Papers. 75. Knowlton, “Reies L. Tijerina and the Alianza Federal de Mercedes,” 136. 76. Jenkins, letter to David M. Brugge, July 18, 1966, Box 80, Folder 3, Jenkins Collection. 77. Jenkins statement, Box 80, Folder 7, Jenkins Collection. 78. Jenkins, letter to Catron, December 22, 1966, Box 80, Folder 1, Jenkins Collection. 79. Jenkins, memo to Campbell, July 11, 1966. On the flawed land adjudication process, see, in addition to Ebright’s works and Dunbar‐Ortiz, Roots of Resistance, Westphall, The Public Domain in New Mexico. 80. El Paso Herald Post, August 7, 1968. 81. Ebright, Land Grants, 105–23. Thanks to David Correia for clarifying the use of the word “republic.” 82. Albuquerque Journal, September 28, 1969; Frank McCarty, “Tijerina, Alianza’s Constitution Disagree,” clipping found in Box 80, Folder 12; Jenkins, letter to Barbara Hough, April 16, 1969, Box 79, Folder 17, Jenkins Collection. 83. “News Bulletin‐Release,” n.d., Box 2, Folder 1: Alianza Press Releases, 1963–8, Tijerina Papers. 84. “New Mexico: Finders Keepers,” Newsweek, November 11, 1966; New Mexican, June 11, 1967. 85. Examination by Jack Love, Box 39, Folder 5, Tijerina Papers 86. Testimony of William Hurst, Box 39, Folder 5, Tijerina Papers. 87. Testimony of Chris Zamora, Box 39, Folder 5, Tijerina Papers. 88. Testimony of Philip Smith, Box 39, Folder 6, Tijerina Papers. 89. Taylor testimony, Box 39, Folder 5, Tijerina Papers. 90. Closing arguments of Jack Love, Box 39, Folder 8, Tijerina Papers. 91. Taylor testimony, Box 39, Folder 5, Tijerina Papers. 92. Testimony of James H. Evans, Box 39, Folder 2, Tijerina Papers. 93. Paul Friesema, “The Forest Service in Crisis in Northern New Mexico,” 1971 conference paper, 10, Box 7, Folder 100, Peter Van Dresser Papers, NMSRCA. 94. New Mexican, November 11, 1967. 95. Colorado Supreme Court decision re Lobato v. Taylor, June 24, 2002, p. 19, www.courts.state.co.us/supct/opinions/2000/00SC527.doc (accessed October 15, 2007). 96. Letter from Hough to Jenkins, April 13, 1969; and Jenkins’ response, October 16, 1969, both in Box 79, Folder 17, Jenkins Collection. 97. Letter to editor, New Mexican, June 22, 1967, 98. New Mexican, December 29, 1967. 99. Letter to the editor, New Mexican, July 27, 1967. 100. González, The Spanish‐Americans of New Mexico, 103. 101. Albuquerque Journal, June 19, 1968. 102. Denver Post, June 7, 1967. 103. David Cargo testifying before the Subcommittee on Rural Development, “Effect of Federal Programs on Rural America,” June 12, 1967, 192. 104. Kosek, 338. 105. Knowlton, “Spanish and Mexican Land Grants.” 106. Jim Sagel, “A Land Grant ‘Theft’ and the Fight It Kindled,” newspaper clipping, no date but sometime around 1987, Tijerina Vertical File, Folder 2. 107. Speech dated February 19, 1965, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 108. Sheet labeled “1963/64 file”, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 109. Sheet dated May 19, 1964, Box 1, Folder 1, Tijerina Papers. 110. Hobsbawm and Ranger, Invention of Tradition. For a critical view of Afrocentrism, see Walker, We Can’t Go Home Again. 111. Tijerina, They Called Me “King Tiger,” xvi. 112. In his repeated use of the term, Tijerina borrowed from Sanchez’s classic, The Forgotten People. 113. Jelin, State Repression, 33. 114. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, June 4, 2004, 163–4. For a critical view, see Ebright’s Center for Land Grant Studies website, “The G.A.O. Report: A Slap in the Face,” www.southwestbooks.org/index.htm#gaoreport (accessed October 18, 2007).