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Rural Perspectives in Latinx Heritage Work
[Themes: Region and Resources]

Congreso 2022

This session will highlight formal and informal efforts to document and memorialize the Latinx presence in rural communities of the region. We will learn how Latinx heritage advocates are utilizing the National Heritage Area program of the National Park Service (NPS) to preserve Latinx history and culture. Unique challenges and opportunities faced by rural heritage sites will be examined in the case of the Boggsville Historic Site (CO). The third case study is the Migrant Trail Walk, a 75-mile and 7-day pilgrimage and protest march that commemorates the migrants who have died in the Sonoran Desert.

Facilitator:

Steven Moreno-Terrill, Latinos in Heritage Conservation


Speakers:

Julie Chacon, Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area

Cindy Nasky, Boggsville Historic Site

Magda Mankel, Migrant Trail Walk



Public historian and professor of Chicanx/ethnic studies, Steven Moreno-Terrill, offers culturally relevant, antiracist, and place-based curriculum to students at Hispanic Serving Institutions in Southern California. He holds master’s degrees in public history and critical race studies in education from UC Riverside and Chicana/o studies and communication studies from CSU Los Angeles. His current work includes the pilot project Southern California Latinx Public Humanities Institute, which interlinks college Chicanx/ethnic studies curriculum with humanities projects, exhibits, cultural sites, and historic preservation organizations, empowering students to preserve and highlight hidden histories of race and place, cultivate racial justice literacy, and connect their accounts to the cultural landscape.


Julie was raised between La Jara and Capulin, Colorado on her family homestead. She has family still in San Francisco, San Luis, Romeo and Capulin, all small communities in Colorado. She and her family have traced their roots to Embudo, Las Tusas and El Rito, all small communities in New Mexico. Julie graduated from Centauri High School and attended Adams State University. Previously the Financial Director at Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area, she has been the Executive Director for the past three years. She is also the Treasurer for the Alliance of National Heritage Areas.


Cindy serves as the Director of Preservation Programs at the Colorado Historical Foundation and focuses on conservation easements and preservation initiatives. She holds a Master’s in Historic Preservation from CSU with an undergraduate degree from Miami University in design, architectural and art history. Cindy’s goal is to bring preservation into the common lexicon of daily life by improving key messaging, expanding partners, promoting industry flexibility and embracing sustainable practice.


Dr. Magda E. Mankel is an anthropologist and ethnographer whose research interests include cultural heritage, heritage trails, cultural landscapes, and transnational migration. For her dissertation research, Dr. Mankel worked with the Migrant Trail Walk and explored the intersections between border enforcement policies, cultural heritage resources, and immigrant advocacy in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands. Prior to her research with immigrant advocacy groups, she worked with the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail to explore how Latinx Tucsonans related to the trail’s interpretative narratives and accessibility. Dr. Mankel is currently pursuing her passion for teaching as a Program Organizer at the Tucson based nonprofit, Borderlinks.

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