Mexico in the Midwest? Making the Borderlands Meaningful to Students
Introduction The US-Mexico Borderlands. US-Mexico Borderlands Defined by location Border graffiti,...
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Transcript of Introduction The US-Mexico Borderlands. US-Mexico Borderlands Defined by location Border graffiti,...
IntroductionThe US-Mexico Borderlands
US-Mexico Borderlands
• Defined by location
Border graffiti, Nogales, MexicoBorder marker #1, Texas/Chihuahua
Historical US-Mexico Border Boundaries
Physical Geography
• Basically extensions of its northern borders:– Intermontane West, Great Plains, Inland South,
Coastal South
• Deserts:– Chihuahua, Mojave, Sonora
• Climate:– Varied due to landscape, but generally hot
Physical Geography• Hydrology
– Increasing population taxing water supply– Main rivers: Colorado, Rio Grande, Pecos
Physical Geography
• Biogeography– Peccary– Saguaro– Gila Monster– Elf Owl
Historical Settlement
• Tri-cultural area:– Native Americans– Spanish Americans– Anglo Americans
Historical Settlement
Native Americans
• Settlement Patterns– Long Beach-Los
Angeles area = more Indian residents than any other urban area in the country
– The majority of the population is static; “Four Corners”
• Ethnic Identifiers/References
–“Hispano”
–“Chicano”
–“Texanos”/“Tejanos”
• Spanish settlement in the Southwest predates English settlement by 200+ years
• Mostly explored by 1550–Santa Fe founded in 1610
• Taos, Albuquerque, and other “pueblos” followed
Hispanic Americans
Spanish American
Settlement
• Cabeza de Vaca
• Coronado
• “Zone of Contact”
• Alamo
Adapted from Arreola, 2002. Tejano South Texas: A Mexican
American Cultural Province
Ethnic Patterns• 1850: ~10% Mexican overall• 1900-1990: ~3 million legal Mexican immigrants
arrived in the US
Spatial Interaction
• Gravity Model• Complementarity• Transferability• Intervening
Opportunities
Borderland building (US Customs) in the Spanish (Mexican) style. Naco, AZ.
Spatial Interactions
• Political Boundaries• Cultural Differences• US-Mexico
Borderlands as a “Gateway”
Political Economy
• Primary Sector• Secondary
Sector– Zona libre– Maquiladoras– NAFTA
• During the 1980s, all US-Mexico Borderland states grew above the national average!
• Climate attracts retirees
• Pull factor: Industry
– Aircraft industry• Good flying weather and proximity to
California’s large aircraft complex
– Electronics industry
Regional Population Growth
Poverty Rates, 1999
• Compared to Hispanics and Native Americans– Higher incomes– Better educated– Fewer children– More urbanized
• “Quality of Life” indicators (above):– Hispanics second and Native Americans
third
Anglo Americans
Places: US-Mexico Borderlands• Major metropolitan growth cities:
– El Paso– Phoenix– Albuquerque– Tucson
• Major Border Crossings (non-Californian)– El Paso-Juarez– Ambos Nogales– Laredo-NL El Paso, TX looking toward Juarez, Mexico
Other US-Mexico Border Crossings
Sasabe (western AZ)Informal crossing, 30 miles west of Columbus, NM
Notice the gate!
Harder to get to Mexico! Naco, AZ
Reading & Discussion Question
• Reading: Short biography of Dr. Daniel D. Arreola, US-Mexico Borderlands expert
Why do some people consider the US-Mexico Borderlands a “melting pot” while other people don’t?
What do you think the future will bring for the US-Mexico Borderlands?
Related Books
• Arreola, Daniel D. 2002. Tejano South Texas: A Mexican American Cultural Province. Austin: University of Texas Press.– This book earned Dan the prestigious J. B. Jackson award from the
Association of American Geographers! He’s spent his whole career studying the US-Mexico Borderlands.
• Garreau, Joel. 1981. The Nine Nations of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.– Defines “new” regions of North America in terms of social, cultural, and
economic standards. A hit with readers in its day.• Meinig, Donald W. 1971. Southwest: Three Peoples in Geographical
Change, 1600–1970. New York: Oxford University Press.– A thorough book that scrutinizes the regional geography of Native
American, Spanish, and Mormon landscapes in the Southwest. An old-time regional geography approach.
• Nostrand, Richard L. 1992. The Hispano Homeland. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.– This book started the so-called “Homeland Theory”. It weaves
interesting tales of Hispanic families, chronicling historical and present-day events.
WebSources
• All-American Canalhttp://www.iid.com/water/works-allamerican.html
• Festival of the Westhttp://www.festivalofthewest.com/
• Mesilla, New Mexicohttp://www.oldmesilla.org/