Hispanic, Latinx, and/or Indigenous?
The Difference in Terms and Power of Words
September 15th to October 15th is National Hispanic Month, and we are excited to celebrate the Spanish language and culture. As we celebrate, we also saw this as an opportune time to highlight the distinctions and nuances between the terms Hispanic, Latinx, and Indigenous. These words, particularly Hispanic and Latinx, are often incorrectly used interchangeably. Referring to Indigenous populations as Hispanic or Latinx also overwrites their culture, history, and language.
By definition, hispanic refers to a Spanish-speaker, regardless of geographic location. Latinx refers to someone from Central or South America, regardless of language. Indigenous people, also known as First Nations, refer to the original inhabitants of a region, who speak Indigenous languages.
We work in Guatemala and Ecuador, countries that are both technically Latinx and Hispanic. However, we work with many Indigenous populations that speak Indigenous languages, not Spanish. Latinx, a gender-neutral adaptation of Latino or Latina, is explained by Dr. Dario Fernandez-Morera as:
“Another and related meaning of latino in Spanish refers to someone who belongs to the cultures of the Romance Languages, that is, those peoples whose language, and to a varying extent, whose culture, too, derive from the language and civilization of Rome, which was latin. Among these Romance languages are Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Rumanian.”
This definition is more reflective of the settler colonialist European populations that dominated the Indigenous populations, than of the Indigenous peoples themselves. The term is inherently Eurocentric and eclipses Indigenous culture. ReMezcla addresses the term Hispanic by explaining:
“Hispanic refers to anyone from Spain or Spanish-speaking parts of Latin America. It, therefore, promotes Spanish heritage, something many oppose because of the violent ways that they colonized our countries and the erasure of Afro-Latinos and Indigenous people.”
Kurly Tlapoya, the founder of the Chimalli Institute of Mesoamerican Arts, has also spoken out against the use of the term Latinx for Indigenous populations. Although the term Latinx, as oppose to Latino or Latina, is often accepted as a more progressive and inclusive ungendered term, Tlapoya argues that:
“The “x” in Latinx is an attempt to un-gender the term Latino, yet it still pays deference to a Eurocentric ideology that actively denies the indigenous and African heritage of the people it claims to represent. If one is serious about non-gendered terminology, why cling to a European language as the basis of one’s identity? Why not simply adopt an indigenous term? Wouldn’t this be more reflective of our cultural inheritance as native people? Personally, I prefer to identify as Mazewalli, a term in the Nawatl language that means “indigenous person.” Like many Mesoamerican languages, Nawatl is a non-gendered language. As an indigenous man who descends from the Nawa peoples of Puebla, I think it is far more powerful and meaningful to my identity if I use a term in the language of my ancestors. Mexico is one of the most linguistically diverse nations on the planet, with 62 indigenous languages still being spoken. This means there are a multitude of authentic, culturally specific labels we can use to describe ourselves which better reflect who we are.”
On a surface level, these linguistic distinctions may appear to be no more than politically correct technicalities. However, using accurate terms for a population is the building block for inclusivity and equity within society. When we group Indigenous peoples into Latinx or Hispanic, we are perpetuating the domination of the majority over the minority.
Indigenous culture is richly unique, and we seek to support them to stay on their land and with their culture, not to contribute to the centuries of attempted erasure stacked against them. Acknowledging Indigenousness within a society is also key to addressing systemic inequities.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a clear example of the importance of identifying Indigenous populations. An article in The Guardian noticed that there have been “stark disparities” in the impact of Covid-19 in Black and Latinx communities, but almost half of state data does not “explicitly include Native Americans in their breakdowns and instead categorized them under the label “other.”
Abigail Echo-Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Tribe and the director of the Urban Indian Health Board, explained, “By including us in the other category it effectively eliminates us in the data.” In states that have been specifying Native Americans in health data, there have been disproportionately high rates of infection and death. These rates are not coincidental. Social demographer Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear summarizes the complexity in one sentence:
“Health disparities are nice words for systemic racism...it’s the residual effects of the founding of this country.”
As an organization, Highland Support Project seeks to support Indigenous communities and their right to be with their culture and community and on their land. We recognize that doing our best to use the correct language is just one small step to supporting Indigenous communities.