What do we lose when we don’t know ALL of our histories? Understanding our great, great, great, great grandparents' lives and how they survived, where they settled or traveled, and what languages they spoke – all of these details reveal so much about who we are and how we landed here in this place, at this moment in time. How our ancestors interacted with other people and with the land has had ripple effects on why things are the way they are today.

Dr. Gregorio Gonzales (Comanche, Genízaro), the tribal liaison for the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, works to develop relationships with 23 tribal governments based within New Mexico. DCA divisions interact with as many as 34 American Indian tribal governments, which include tribes with ancestral ties to New Mexico and whose tribal headquarters are located in Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. Gonzales is uniquely suited to this position due to his impressive knowledge of Indigenous history in the state—including Genízaro history which is still largely unknown in the context of United States history. 

Even within New Mexico, groups without any connection to a Genízaro identity are not likely to know this history. And as Gonzales reveals, he didn’t understand the full history and context of his Genízaro identity until he was a young adult.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine

Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann

Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz

Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler

Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)

Theme Music: D’Santi Nava

Instagram: @newmexicanculture and @elpalaciomagazine

For a transcript and full show notes, please visit podcast.nmculture.org