Chicano/a Research Collection

This three-part program traces Chicano heritage and influence in Arizona's history between the 1600s and the 1950s. It begins with a consideration of Mexican immigrants' role in pioneering Arizona's first non-Indigenous settlements, discusses these settlers' conflicts with Indigenous peoples and Anglo settlers, recounts Mexican-American contributions to Arizona's economic growth, chronicles rising racism towards, discrimination against, and segregation of Mexican-Americans, and finally studies Mexican-American work to secure equal rights.

"Part I: The Pioneer" discusses Mexican immigration into what is now the American Southwest, beginning with the missions established in the late 1600s. It goes on to discuss relationships between Mexican-Americans and Indigenous peoples (including numerous conflicts with the Apache), development of agricultural enterprises, conflicts with Anglo-American settlers, the growth of the freighting and ranching industries, the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad and its impact, the growth of and racism in the mining industry, issues surrounding land grants, and the settlement of Florence, Safford, Solomon, Concho, St. Johns, and Round Valley. This section ends with a discussion of rising racial tensions and the founding of the Alianza Hispano Americana.