Indigenous tribes inhabited the land that would later become Colorado, predating its existence. Following their settlement, Spanish settlers arrived. As a result of the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s, these settlers became Mexican citizens. Subsequently, the Mexican-American War occurred, culminating in the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty saw Mexico cede 55% of its territory to the United States as a resolution to the conflict.
As a result, the border shifted south, displacing families and landowners who had been residing in the region for multiple generations.
Lucha Martínez de Luna, a Chicano historian at History Colorado, elaborated that families and individuals residing in these communities were given a choice: either become a citizen of the United States or relocate to Mexico.
Naturally, many of these families had resided there for centuries, thus choosing to remain.
However, their journey was not without challenges and upheavals, particularly when the U.S. Senate broke their promise stated in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo to protect their land.
Furthermore, exacerbating the issue, when landowners attempted to seek justice in court, they faced the additional challenge of all legal documents being exclusively in English, without any provision of interpreters.
In the 1960s, Chicanos discovered themselves engaged in a battle to reclaim their cultural heritage and attain fairness in their workplaces and educational institutions, marking a significant shift more than a century later.
Antonio Esquibel, a Chicano educator, highlighted the increasing prevalence of discrimination. He brought attention to the presence of signs in restaurants that explicitly stated “no Mexicans allowed,” leading people to question why they should tolerate such mistreatment.
The protests for improved conditions at the Kitiyama Carnation Farm were spearheaded by a Chicana. In an act of solidarity, students from West High School staged a walkout to protest a teacher and presented a set of demands, which included the inclusion of their own history in the curriculum. Additionally, a Catholic priest actively fought to preserve a Latino neighborhood following the destructive 1965 flood.
Throughout all of the events, activists rallied behind the statement “We were crossed by the border.”
Rudy Gonzales, a Chicano activist, expressed that being Chicano allows him to connect with his Indigenous heritage in this hemisphere. He emphasized that it is not a matter of crossing the border, but rather the border crossing them.
