AZTLAN
CONTROVERSY
There is a misunderstanding regarding the term Aztlan and we wish to address that here. We must mention that we do believe in Aztlan, it is a premise under which the entirety of the Chicano Movement was founded upon. The controversy is in how the term or concept of Aztlan is used, which can be problematic to some people.
DOCUMENTED EVIDENCE
It seems like an oxymoron that some educators may lack knowledge on OUR past, but they are also just people who have limited understanding or have been misinformed by the colonial education system.
For professors to tell their impressionable students that Aztlan "did not--and--does not exist", that "it's a myth." That is COMPLETELY irresponsible and false, and denies many of our people their native origin story.
Approximately 1000 years ago the “Azteca” migrated from the Utah area. They had received a prophecy from Huitzilopochtli that they needed to travel south and find an eagle carrying a snake, sitting on top of a cactus. After hundreds of years of migrating they found that prophecy on an island on a lake called Texcoco and built their city called Tenochtilan. They renamed themselves “Mexica”, and the Mexica empire incorporated hundreds of surrounding nations/tribes, becoming the greatest empire to exist in the western hemisphere.
At the destruction of Tenochtitlan, Cuauhtemoc, the last Mexica Tlatoani gave the following prophecy:
Nahuatl version of Cuauhtemocs Prophecy
Totonaltzin omotlahtiuh, totonaltzin oixpoliuh, iwan tzentla yowayan. Otex kateh, max tikmatih. Ma okzepa walla. Ma okzepa kitztiki Iwan yankwik ohtikan. Texlace tlawilkin, max inoka ompa ka, Miktlantzin momanitz. Ma tzanwelliu titozentla tilikan. Ma titotexokan, iwan toyolnepantla. Ma titlatikan, moxi in toyoloh kitlazohtla. Kiweyi tlakiomatzintzintli. Iwan tikmatih, ipan iuhkin weyi xalxiwitzintli. Ma tikin popolokan toteokalwanzintli, tokalmekawanzintli, totlachkowanzintli, totelpochkalwanzintli, tokwikakalwanzintli. Ma motzekawakan, to owiwantzintli. Iwan ma toxanwantzintli ma texpelikan. Axkan amo maktia kin ikwak toyanwiktonalzintli. In tatzintzin, in nantzintzin, ma aik kilkawakan in tlamaxtli, in ixpilwantzin. In tatzintzin inka intelpochwan iwan in nantzintzin inka ichpolwan. Iwan ma kimaxtian inpilwan, inoka ik nemitzkeh. In yuhkin, kenin kwalli katka, kin axkan ixkixkawitl totlazohtla Mexico, in tlanekiliz, in tochimal. Iwan tlapalewiliztli toteowantzintzintli iwan tokenpololitztli. okitzeliken tokoltzintzinwan, iwan tlen totahtzintzinwan. Aik yoleka yaopan. okixtinaxkeh toyelitzpan. Akan tewantin tikintekimakah in topilwan, ka totlakwilolitzli wan tototlamatiliztli. Ma pixkia panpa nemolitzli. Axkan iwan tikin tochanwan toteokalwanzintli, tokalmekawanzintli, totlachkowanzintli, totelpochkalwanzintli, tokwikakalwanzintli. Amo makilkawakan, makinotzakan inpilwan, wel kenin yetz, kenin moewatz. Iwan wel kenin kitzko weyika nemilitz, iwan ki yektzon, weyika nextolilitztli - in totlazohtlalnantzin Mexico!
To summarize, he is lamenting the destruction of the empire and he mandates that we guard the sacred knowledge, that we use our homes to build up the teachings, mentoring, and warrior training of our youth, until we rise again. He exclaims excitement of knowing we will rise again and fulfill our destiny, to unite our people, liberate our lands, and reunite the empire once more. This is the prophecy of Aztlan.
English version of Cuauhtemoc's Prophecy
Our beloved sun has disappeared and has left us in total darkness. But we know that it will again return, will again come out and will come anew to shine upon us. But while it stays there in Miktlan (region of eternal repose.) We should rapidly gather and embrace ourselves. And in the center of our heart we will hide all that which our heart appreciates and considers a treasure. And we know like a great jade we will destroy our Teokalwanzintli (houses of youth), our Kalmekawanzintli (Universities), our tlachkowanzintli (ball courts), our telpochkalwanzintli (houses of young men), and our kwikakalwanzintli (houses of song.) That our roads may remain deserted and that our homes may preserve us. For now we do not know until when our new sun will come out. That the fathers and the mothers may never forget to teach their children. The fathers with the boys, the mothers with the girls. And that they teach their children while they live, precisely how good has been that which has been until today. Our beloved Mexico The refuge, the protection and the care of our energies. And as a result of our customs and the behavior that our venerable elders received and our venerable parents with effort sowed in our essence. Now we deliver the task to our children that they guard our writings and our knowledge. From now on our homes will be our teokalwanzintli, our Kalmekawanzintli, our Tlachkowanzintli, our telpochkalwanzintli, our kwikalwanzintli. And do not forget to inform our children intensely how it will be. How we will rise! And exactly how its destiny will be realized and how it will fulfill its grand destiny. Our beloved motherland Mexico!
It is well documented in old Mexica codices and anthropological and genetic discoveries that Aztlan is real. The Mexica described Aztlan as the land to the North, the present day US Southwest. The Uto-Azteca family tree is vast, and it is the largest linguistic/genetic family in the world with over 60 distinct languages and indigenous nations coming from it. The fact that we migrated from the US Southwest is undeniable, and the Azteca/Mexica are cousins with over 60 indigenous nations. The Uto-Aztecan family tree stretches from the Shoshoni in Idaho, to the Pipil in El Salvador.
What does that mean?
We are not here to conquer or colonize, but rather to empower Native nations, restore our languages and traditions, unite our people as a strong force for liberation, and ensure that all Indigenous nations across the western hemisphere can regain their sovereignty and thrive. Our belief in Aztlan is that as Native indigenous people we must RESTORE ALL THIS LAND'S sacred ways, and liberate ourselves! Many Native tribes were pushed to the point of extinction in the US. Many were completely wiped out. The few million that remain in the US do not have singular or collective power that the Mexica have. The Mexica, and by extension, all the Uto-Aztecan people together comprise over 100 million Native people. We are liberators dedicated to the sacred duty of supporting all Native nations in reclaiming their lands and restoring their sovereignty, starting primarily with the Southwest and Mexico, but with a commitment that extends to ensuring freedom for every Native nation across the western hemisphere.
Aztlan in the Chicano Movement
The 1960’s saw a resurgence of reclaiming the Chicano indigenous identity. In fact that was part of a previous attempt to unite the Mexican people after the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The Revolution had left Mexico shattered and the government faced the daunting task of uniting the people under one central government. They did this by launching a nationalist movement centered around the unifying theme of Mexico’s Indigenous and Mestizo heritage. Works of art, building projects, archeological discoveries, led to a revitalization of Mexican culture and united the population. Although the Mexican government did not have a real interest in empowering and protecting the Indigenous population, it did have a cultural impact that has been felt for decades as more and more Mexicans embraced their indigeneity.
This cultural revolution had an effect on the Chicanos, especially the first generation Chicanos whose parents would tell them what little they knew about their indigeneity. When the Chicano Movement took hold and more Chicanos started attending higher education, they began learning more about their indigenous roots and started to embrace it. Some turned to Northern Native teachings, especially the Lakota who would willingly share their medicine with these “Southern Cousins”, others embraced Mexicayotl and other forms of Aztec/Mexica teachings. With them learning more about the Mexica, they also learned about Aztlan, the land to the north, where the Mexica had migrated from. It was determined through careful study that indeed it was in the Southwest, which ironically correlated with the lands that were stolen from Mexico by the United States in the illegal invasion of 1846. Chicanos therefore said that Aztlan, the Southwestern US, was their homeland, and wrote treatises and manifestos declaring themselves a nation, the Chicano nation of Aztlan.
At the time, the idea of a nation of Aztlan seemed reasonable, but there was a big problem, there already existed many Native nations in the Southwest, many of which are not Uto-Aztecan. To them it seemed like this “Chicano dream of a homeland” was just another invading/colonizing force. It set the Chicanos and the Native nations at odds. Using the White man’s argument, the Native nations said Aztlan is not real, it was a myth, just a folktale of events that could or could not be true. How could it not be true if there is ample archeological and genetic evidence? Aztlan is simply what they called the territory/region, now known as the Southwestern United states. In truth the Azteca/Mexica were not claiming that Aztlan was a nation/state, that was something that writers and leaders in the Chicano Movement came up with in the 60’s. Were they wrong? Perhaps. Where they right? Perhaps. What it did do was spur a longing in the heart of the Chicanos to reclaim their lost indigeneity, and refocus on what’s important, liberation.
Today’s Chicano Movement has evolved after 50 years. Whereas in the 60’s they focused a lot on their Mestizaje, today they have discarded Mestizaje and have fully embraced their indigeneity. The concept of Aztlan is still alive, but it has also evolved into a spiritual concept. Now it is a belief in liberation, of revolution, of reclaiming what was lost to us, our identity. Are these our lands? Spiritually, yes, the entire western hemisphere are Native/Indigenous lands. Physically, no, we each have our own tribes we come from. It is even false for all of us to think that we are all Aztec. While the Mexica empire was composed of many tribes and nations, not all were Nahuatl/Aztec. If anything, the idea of Aztlan, and even Mexicayotl (the spiritual/religious practices of the Mexica) are stepping stones, to guide us to our true path, to retribalize us back to our ancestral teachings that we descend from.
Therefore we believe in Aztlan, as the land of the North, where the Azteca began their journey to find their destiny, and where we as Indigenous Chicanos begin our journey to find our destiny. What that will look like, will it be an empire, a nation/state, a federation of Native Nations, we don’t have a clue. What we do know is that this is where we start, but it’s not where we end. We have a destiny, a mandate, a prophecy to fulfill. We have a sacred responsibility to protect our Native cousins and help liberate them, and in so doing, we liberate ourselves. Mexica Tiahui!