The Mexica Movement is an "Indigenous rights educational organization" based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Their organization views Mexicans of Native Mexican and

Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

descent, as one people who are falsely divided by European-imposed borders. Their ultimate objective is the non-violent, democratic "liberation" of the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

from European-descendants. The organization seeks to create a future nation called Cemanahuac. The group views "White" people as Europeans who are squatting on

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

lands, and who must be repatriated back to Europe. The group rejects the " Aztlán ideology" as being too limited, seeking instead to unite the entire American continents under indigenous control.

Name and origin

The name Mexica is derived from the Nahuatl word ''Mēxihcah'' (), the name the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s used for themselves. The organization is named after the Mexica (a.k.a.

) civilization. This civilization is seen as the best chance from which the continent's indigenous-descent peoples can reconstruct themselves as a nation, similar to the way that modern Italians unified their nation under Roman-Italic identity and the Tuscan dialect. Nican Tlaca (literally meaning "Man Here") was first used in an ethnic context in the book ''We People Here'' by John Lockhart (who was the first person to create Nican Tlaca as an identity). Nican Tlaca is grammatically incorrect. Contemporary native Nahuatl speakers are dumbfounded by it since it is incomplete. In ancient text, it was used as a pronoun, not as an ethnic group as the Mexica Movement claim.

Flag symbolism

The Mexica Movement's flag features indigenous

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica ...

n and

new age spirituality New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

symbolism. The black-and-white design in the center is a symbol used in New Age Mayanism which depicts duality (life and death, male and female, matter and non-matter, seen and unseen, etc.) This design is referred to as

Hunab Ku Hunab Ku () is a colonial period Yucatec Maya ''reducido'' term meaning "The One God". It is used in colonial, and more particularly in doctrinal texts, to refer to the Christian God. Since the word is found frequently in the Chilam Balam o ...

in Mayanism which was borrowed from the

Yucatec Maya Yucatec Maya (; referred to by its speakers simply as Maya or as , is one of the 32 Mayan languages of the Mayan language family. Yucatec Maya is spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic commu ...

word for "The Only God", which refers to the Christian God. The Mexica Movement is also referred to as Ometeotl in the Nahuatl language though there is evidence that Miguel Portilla created that term. The two dualities complement one another and are unified in balance. The four colors and four elements are from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

's Classical Element; Red represent fire, Black for Earth, White for Air and Blue for water

Issues

Historical awareness

Mexica Movement is a non-violent, educational organization. It focuses on teaching the public about the pre-European civilizations of Nican Tlaca (indigenous people). In addition, the group promotes the study of incidents of alleged "European genocidal crimes against ndigenous People. The group advocates this historical awareness in order to reframe the context of discussions about indigenous people and the current governments they live under. In 2015, the movement protested the canonization of

Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Franciscan Missions in the Sierr ...

due to his alleged genocide of

native people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

Identity

The organization is not part of MeCha, National Council of La Raza, Brown Berets, "Aztlanistas" or other "Latino/Hispanic" organizations; nor do they support the Latino/Hispanic agenda which they view as pro-colonial and anti-Nican Tlaca (anti-Indigenous). They are also not part of the Spain-centric "Aztlan" ("Southwest" liberation) agenda because it does not align to their view of total liberation of the Cemanahuac continent ("North and South America"). The organization considers the vast majority of Mexicans and Central Americans to be indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere. The group rejects all labels that originate from European-descent people. This would include ''Latino'', ''Hispanic'', ''Chicano'', ''Indian'', and ''mestizo''. Such labels are considered to be "European-colonial" imposed. The group includes mixed-bloods, full-bloods, and individuals who self-identify as being indigenous.

Language

The organization uses the spoken and written European languages English and Spanish to communicate in daily life, but rejects the inclusion of European languages into their identity and vision for a future indigenous nation. All European languages are seen as foreign and instruments of European colonialism, even as most of the members of this organization are unable to speak or read in any of the native languages they represent due to settler colonialism, including forced erasure of indigenous languages.

Land ownership

The Mexica Movement believes that the entire

continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas t ...

of North America, which they refer to as " Anahuac", belongs collectively to the indigenous people of the Americas: Latin Americans of Amerindian descent, Native Americans, and Canadian

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

. The entire Western Hemisphere is referred to as Cemanahuac ("The whole World Between The Waters" in the Nahuatl language).

Genocide

"Genocide def. Raphael Lemkin defines

Genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

as, '...the planned annihilation illingof a national exican/’Central American’or racial group ndigenousby a variety of actions iological warfare, oppression, enslavement, denial of Indigenous identityaimed at undermining the foundations essential Anahuac_history_and_the_wealth_of_our_land.html" ;"title="ur Pre-European Anahuac history and the wealth of our land">ur Pre-European Anahuac history and the wealth of our landto the survival of the group as a group.'" The movement claims "Europeans intentionally used biological weapons of mass destruction to clear the way for European settlers." Based primarily on the books of American historian and professor of American studies at the University of Hawaii

David Stannard David Edward Stannard (born 1941) is an American historian and Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii. He is particularly known for his book '' American Holocaust'' (Oxford University Press, 1992), in which he argues that Europea ...

, American Holocaust,

Ward Churchill Ward LeRoy Churchill (born 1947) is an American author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1990 until 2007.

, "A little matter of Genocide", James Blaut, "The colonizer's Model of the world", "Eight Eurocentric Historians", and Charles C. Mann, along with circumstantial evidence, and by their own admission they documented themselves. Beginning in the Canary Islands, then in the Caribbean in 1492, and finally in the mainland in 1519. Europeans and their descendants committed a

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

that killed 95% of the indigenous peoples in the Americas. This allowed Europe and peoples of European descent to prosper materially and to develop themselves at the expense of indigenous peoples labor, land, and wealth.

Borders

All current accepted borders across the Western Hemisphere are regarded in the opinion of the Mexica Movement as "colonial" and are rejected by the group. The only true border for Europeans, the group feels, is the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

seaboard. The group maintains that indigenous people have the right to move freely among their own people of the continent disregarding all laws and national borders with whom they believe they may share bloodlines and culture.

Liberation

In response to an article published by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, the Mexica Movement states that it has a strict non-violence policy. The group is committed to a long-term liberation-by-education methodology which seeks to "change hearts and minds" by educating people of the civilized achievements of indigenous people before 1492, and of the alleged genocide and land/resource appropriations by Europeans since that date. The group supports the preservation of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

and the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pr ...

as a legal framework to protect both indigenous and European peoples' rights during the multi-generational process of liberation. The movement does not consider any form of migration by indigenous peoples, as illegal since they consider it to be their land.

Repatriation of white population back to Europe

The Mexica Movement wishes to have white supremacists returned to Europe. The next phase that the group wishes for should be a negotiation to repatriate the majority white population back into Europe; this is to be accomplished over the course of a few generations. Also to be addressed will be discussions of how the Mexica Movement demands Europe and European-descent people collectively deliver reparations to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere. On its website, the movement states that "Europeans have a homeland: EUROPE. We are only asking unwelcomed guests to leave our home. These Europeans have a home to go to. The non-racists can be part of a transition to our full independence, it's not as if Europeans are being asked to go into the Atlantic Ocean. They have a beautiful home called Europe."Note for Europeans (We welcome Europeans to our web site)
Mexica Movement website.

References

External links

*
Olin Tezcatlipoca blog
{{Irredentism Indigenous nationalism in the Americas Native American nationalism Mexican irredentism Mexican-American culture in California Mexican-American organizations Organizations based in Los Angeles