“A Foreigner in My Own Land:” Tejano Identity in a Changing Texas, 1821-1846
Abstract:
The period from 1821 to 1846 proved critical in the development of Texas as an Americanized region. Thanks to an influx of Anglo-American settlers largely from the American South, Texas shifted from Mexican state to independent nation, and eventually to American state. While this transitional period greatly influenced the development of the United States and Mexico, it also had far-reaching implications for minority groups in Texas. For the Tejano population, this demographic and political shift created problems related to ethnic identity. Living on the northern fringes of New Spain and later Mexico, the Tejanos developed as a politically autonomous community built around the preservation of local interests and Spanish, Mexican, and Indigenous cultural traditions. While the Tejanos placed allegiance to Texas and local communities before national interests, their ethnic heritage eventually became the basis for discrimination in the Republic of Texas. As Texan identity came to reflect an Anglo-American cultural and political tradition, ethnic and racial minorities like the Tejanos fell outside the bounds of what it now meant to be Texan. In spite of this, Tejano communities still looked to preserve their own survival and cultural practices. In sum, the Tejano community during this era presents an insightful case study of the complexities and occasional contradictions of identity on the frontier.