Invisibility is dangerous — ‘a tool of colonization and cultural genocide’

Feedback from the article on Mabel [Dodge Luhan], “Taoseña offers different look at Mabel’s legacy,” revealed two things.

One, it struck a nerve. And two, the letters, internet hits and phone calls made it even more conspicuous that although the older communities in Taos have not contributed publicly to the conversation about Mabel, people who want to tell the “other side” of the story are beginning to clear their throats. I sense that people are ready to talk.

There is a knee-jerk reaction that labels as “divisive” anyone who points out an existing divide that has been there all along. Opinions and perspectives that run counter to the dominant cultural narrative are dangerous. So I understand perfectly why people from the Pueblo and the Spanish-speaking community have not told our Mabel stories. Deep feelings are not easy to talk about in an institutional setting or with strangers who have not had the same experiences.

So the non-participation of Native and Hispanic people in the Mabel show [at the Harwood Museum] was no surprise. Despite, I must point out, sincere efforts toward broader inclusiveness and outreach on the part of the museum. But since its inception, Anglos have dominated the art and museum scene and that seems to have become somehow set in concrete. I invite readers to go online and count the local Hispanic and Native people who are members of local art organizations, museum boards, galleries, historical societies and associated groups. Simple observation of the audiences at lectures, art openings and art events demonstrates the same conspicuous absence. I am the only Hispanic member of the Taos Artist Organization, for instance — one out of roughly 45.

This is where everybody is expecting me to blame the Anglos. But instead I want to address my neighbors at the Pueblo and my own Hispanic people.

We know some Anglos are very sensitive about white privilege. Going along with pretending the emperor is nicely dressed saves energy and is better for business. We are used to tiptoeing around the historical elephants in our community living room, and Mabel took up a lot of room in Taos. We keep our stories to ourselves, and only tell them to our families and among our own.

But if people don’t “see” us or know our history, then we have no witnesses, no validation, no history, we get no respect and end up with no rights. Invisibility is dangerous. It is a tool of colonization and cultural genocide. Our new president and his administration believe that Natives, Blacks, Latinos, immigrants and women are genetically inferior and that the country rightfully belongs to white people. Apathy and passive non-participation are not safe anymore.

And there is an internal, insidious price to invisibility. By not telling our stories, we become invisible to ourselves and our children. The stories will be lost. Our history is not a dead, vanishing thing of the past we should “get over” to avoid offending privilege or contradicting the victor’s version. History is still happening. We are living it, it’s as much a part of us as our feet. In fact – it is our feet. It’s what grounds us.

I understand that this invisibility is a form of privacy, a form of resistance, and a way of protecting ourselves. But outside of personal and religious privacy, by refusing to be part of the public narrative we contribute to the same invisibility we complain about among ourselves. Those of us Natives and Hispanics living now are the last ones who can tell those stories. Things are not the same anymore. In our lifetime history has gone from oral to digital. If no one writes our stories down they will be forgotten.

Telling our stories in our own way is a way of taking back power.

Think about the power of visibility – the most powerful corporations in the world, the most powerful army, police, media, state-of-the-art technological and psychological warfare has been hammering at the people at Standing Rock for months. And like rocks, they are still standing. If it weren’t for visibility there would have been a massacre. And because of visibility they have inspired millions worldwide and started a global movement.

And things are changing. A new generation of Native and Hispanic scholars are doing the work of making our local history visible. And our youth are telling their stories and making their truth visible.

Rodríguez is an outspoken local artist and author.