“Big Bend” is a stretch of the Rio Grande river that makes a sweeping bend through the Chihuahua Desert and includes the rugged terrain of the Chisos mountains. Considered a biodiversity hotspot, Big Bend is a renowned congregation of “birders” and nature nerds to witness the northern edge of many tropical bird species and the great migration of the Monarch butterfly. Culturally, Chisos and Jumano Indians are some of the most distantly known people to live in the area. In the 1700’s the Mescalero Apaches displaced the Chisos Indians and later the Comanches were known to travel through the area as conflicts with the Mexican army increased. The Mexican-American War of 1848 created the boundary that now follows the Rio Grande. As with most of the Borderlands in contemporary times, human migration has been forced by US Border Patrol policies into the most remote areas. Along the way we’ll discuss the role of boundaries in mythmaking and storytelling. How is linguistic biodiversity important to cultural survivance? What are the environmental effects and cultural impacts of nation-building?
Participants: M Acuff, Avantika Bawa, Daniel Godínez Nivón, Betty Marin, Lesly Yobany Mendoza, Claudio Sánchez Ríos, Miriam Simun, Ryan Woodring.
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