HispanicVista Columnists
Who you calling “illegal”?
By Robert Miranda
Mexicans come from 10,000 years of human history and all of it in the conquered lands now known in history books as Mesoamerica and the United States of North America.
Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Columbians and all the ethnic peoples that make up Latin America and the Caribbean basin come from native tribes that flourished long before the invasion of the Spanish Europeans and the introduction of African slaves into this Hemisphere.
Long before the Conquistadors destroyed the Aztec, Inca, Taino, the tribal Nation of Boriken, and Mayan empires, cities and pyramids as large and as high as any city or building in Europe, thrived in a society that lived in harmony with the land.
Latinos are a people who remember our ancestry. We know that the lands that were taken after the Indian Wars and the Mexican – American War, are ancestral lands that many Mexicans consider to this day as part of their ancient history.
Illegal! Who you calling “illegal”?
The Aztecs and Incas, Apache, the Comanche, Pueblo Indians and all the native people who for thousands of years harvested these lands and built cities, and lived free under their own set of laws and rules, thrived and prospered. Today these cities are being discovered under mounds of rubble and dirt and are being exposed to the world as proof of the wonders and genius of our ancestors.
These lands stolen by the greed and manipulations and war of those who arrived on ships from Europe, and then began stealing land that was never theirs, today have descendents who have inherited their wealth from this theft and have turned to the descendents of the native people and have called them “illegal”.
Who you calling “illegal”?
The blood of Geronimo, Orocobix, Cochise and Pope, of the Pueblo Indians reminds us conscious Latinos/Chicanos of our legacy and ancient history. I’m supposed to surrender this history because Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh and Milwaukee’s local right-wing talking heads say that I must? Right.
Blind some of us are to this history; it is still our ancient history.
The western cloth that we wear, and the conquer’s language that we speak will never stop us from remembering our ancient past. It is my history! It is as much my right to hold on to that ancient history as it is the right for any human to hold on to theirs.
We are keen to the fact that we have been in these lands thousands of years before Columbus and we will be here thousands of years from now.
Who you calling “illegal”?
My blood is part indigenismo! My ancient past will not be forgotten. I will not have my identity stripped from me like it was done to the African slaves.
Boricua, I am. My support for the immigrants—undocumented as well—is strong. Committed to this ground I have made my stand. I have worn the uniform to protect this ancient land. I have a right.
It was not the “illegal” who blew up the building in Oklahoma. Nor did they kill Kennedy or King.
Laws we know are not equally applied. That’s why Frank Jude is locked up, and freedom given to the three cops that lied.
Who you calling “illegal”?
Millions we are building this nation, accused of being terrorists by an insecure few.
We love this land, we always have and we always will.
Our ancient culture is embedded all over this Hemisphere.
- Who you calling “illegal”?
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- Robert Miranda, a frequent contributing columnist to HispanicVista.com (http://www.hispanicvista.com/) is a national award winning columnist, Latino community activist and Editor-in-Chief of the Milwaukee Spanish Journal. Email at: rmiranda@wi.rr.com