Coyote Nation

by Mitchell, Pablo

• ISBN13: 9780226532424
• ISBN10: 0226532429
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-29
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad in the 1880s came the emergence of a modern and profoundly multicultural New Mexico. Native Americans, working-class Mexicans, elite Hispanos, and black and white newcomers all commingled and interacted in the territory in ways that had not been previously possible. But what did it mean to be white in this multiethnic milieu? And how did ideas of sexuality and racial supremacy shape ideas of citizenry and determine who would govern the region? Coyote Nation considers these questions as it explores how New Mexicans evaluated and categorized racial identities through bodily practices. Where ethnic groups were numerous andin the wake of miscegenationoften difficult to discern, the ways one dressed, bathed, spoke, gestured, or even stood were largely instrumental in conveying one's race. Even such practices as cutting one's hair, shopping, drinking alcohol, or embalming a deceased loved one could inextricably link a person to a very specific racial identity. A fascinating history of an extraordinarily plural and polyglot region, Coyote Nation will be of value to historians of race and ethnicity in American culture.

Author Biography

Pablo Mitchell is assistant professor of history at Oberlin College.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface: A Note on Coyotes	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction
Bodies on Borders	1	(25)
Compromising Positions
Racializing Bodies at Pueblo Indian Schools	26	(26)
Carnal Knowledge
Racializing Hispano Bodies in the Courts	52	(29)
Transits of Venus
Ceremonies and Contested Public Space	81	(20)
Strange Bedfellows
Anglos and Hispanos in the Reproduction of Whiteness	101	(21)
``Promiscuous Expectoration''
Medicine and the Naturalization of Whiteness	122	(27)
``Just Gauzy Enough''
Consumer Culture and the Shared White Body of Anglos and Hispanos	149	(25)
Conclusion
Birth of a Coyote Nation	174	(11)
Notes	185	(28)
Bibliography	213	(16)
Index	229