“Raíces: Indigenous Mexico in Alaska”
Itzel Zagal, from Alaska, and Michelle Lara, Gerardo Paez, and Alejandro Lopez, from the Valley of Mexico, co-wrote the book “Roots: Indigenous Mexico in Alaska.
This book provides context for 137 Mesoamerican artifacts that arrived in Alaska in 1941 through an exchange between the Peabody Museum at Harvard University and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Museum of the North. The research was supported by the LACASA project of Professors Sveta Yamin-Pasternak and Igor Pasternak and the Museum of the North, which funded the publication of the book to be shared freely and openly with the interested community. The book has four chapters: Ritual Life, Social Life and War, Bodies, Clothing and Objects, and Tepalcates and the Transcendence of Ceramics. The introduction was written by Gerardo Páez and explains the indigenous cosmovision of the original peoples of the Valley of Mexico, which is still alive today. The book was presented for the first time in Tepetlixpa, Mexico, at the Casa de la Cultura and Casa Cuauhtemal, accompanied by ceremonies and performances by the Yolteotl group, with their pre-Hispanic music and Mexihca dance, and the Soledades girls’ group, who performed a contemporary interpretation of pieces such as Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror). The community embraced the presentation of the book and its co-authors, and in the coming months the presentation will take place in Alaska so that the Latin American population can approach this collection and create a space for intergenerational dialogue about pre-Hispanic roots and how this collection can contribute to strengthening the identity of the new generations thriving in Alaska. The book’s prologue states: “The completion of this study took place in 2021, amidst the commemoration of the 500 years since the Aztec defense of Tenochtitlan, currently Mexico City. On August 13, 1521, the Indigenous peoples, who were dominated by the Mexicas (Aztecs), became allies with Spanish troops and took over the city of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). From the Spanish perspective, this event marked the beginning of the colonization of what we now refer to as Mexico. However, for the Indigenous people of Mexico, this date symbolizes the beginning of the resistance that extends to this day, fighting extractivist projects, defending their territory and water, and generally practicing the philosophy of the Buen Vivir (Good Living).” “In addition, there are efforts to leave behind the concepts and names imposed by the Spanish colonial system. For example, replacing “Pre-Hispanic” with “Pre-Contact.” Also, in the place commonly called “Mesoamerica,” there is an attempt to recover the name “Anáhuac,” which refers to the Nahua region that encompassed from central Mexico to what we now refer to as Nicaragua (nic-anáhuac, meaning the Anáhuac ended here). “Abya Yala” is another name strongly supported by Indigenous peoples of the South to replace the use of “America.” Abya Yala was the name the Cuna Indigenous people gave to the entire “American” continent, meaning land in full maturity. “Abya Yala” is widely used in Indigenous congresses, community movements, and even by some UN agencies such as ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean).” “In this study, we have sought to honor the indigenous perspective and remember the peoples who have inhabited Abya Yala since time immemorial; their past, present, and future are full of dignity and the practice of the Buen Vivir (Good Living) that represents a civilization alternative to the patriarchal capitalism of our days.” 
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