“Parece que están dándote una bienvenida”: testimonios of Chicana/o families’ sense of belonging through nature
- WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Joanna Paola Orozco (Creator)
- Institution
- Western Carolina University (WCU )
- Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
- Advisor
- Callie Spencer Schultz
Abstract: Environmentalism and social structures are deeply intertwined; therefore, addressing racial disparities for communities of Color is crucial for attaining justice for our natural world and the people within. A white narrative heavily influences outdoor leisure in the U.S. with little insight from other racial groups. The purpose of this study is to explore how the natural world influences Chicana/o families’ sense of belonging within their communities. I used testimonios (Silva et al., 2021) as a methodology coupled with a LatCrit (Solorzano et al., 2001) theoretical framework to collect counterstories (to white narratives). After intergenerational family interviews, including my own family, I curated excerpts that reflected core ideas of belonging, connection to the land, and experiences of injustice. These testimonios mirror messages of societal belonging or exclusion within the context of critical social issues for Latine people. The testimonios end with consejos: words of wisdom for future generations. I conclude the results with reflexive poems comprised of the testimonios shared using antropoesía. This study aims to deconstruct racialized hetero-normative narratives of the outdoors and “hold space” (Cairo, 2021) for Latine stories and perspectives.
“Parece que están dándote una bienvenida”: testimonios of Chicana/o families’ sense of belonging through nature
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Created on 3/1/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- Chicana/o, LatCrit, Latine, Nature, Racial Equity, Testimonios
- Subjects
- Racial justice
- Nature
- Outdoor recreation
- Mexican Americans
- Hispanic Americans
- Belonging (Social psychology)