Do today’s generation of Mixtec and other Indigenous groups face that same struggle?

There is a large percentage of our population who still mark Latino on official forms for many reasons. Some do it because it is easier to navigate the system. We do a lot of work with the local school districts around issues like language access. Many Mixtec parents don’t speak Spanish or English… and yet it took years for the districts to modify their intake forms to include Mixtec or Zapotec. When they finally did, we began to educate the community, encouraging them to check the “Mixtec” box. But parents told us it takes so much time to access services when they mark Mixtec because they have to schedule interpreters that many just mark Latino to make the process move more quickly.

Spanish-language media has come out in recent days to defend de León and to argue for more — not less — Latino representation in Los Angeles. What is your response?

We disagreed with the article published in La Opinión, because it felt like it was all about protecting his reputation, about giving him a pass. The victim’s voice was not included… it was more the voice of the perpetrator. The headline also used the term “lynching,” which has a problematic history with Indigenous people and African Americans.

The other day de Leon was on Telemundo and Univision, insisting he won’t resign. It’s as if these other outlets are now joining the campaign to defend him. A lot of this has to do with Spanish-language media in general, which excludes Indigenous people… You don’t see people that look like me in these media, and when you do, often the stories are patronizing.

But what about the question of representation? Where do Indigenous communities like the Mixtec fit in that discussion?

I can’t speak about Los Angeles because I don’t live there, but as an Indigenous person in California, I can say that this whole scandal has reaffirmed the one thing we feared, which is that candidates who run campaigns saying they represent us… they are not representing us. They are just mouthing the words that they care about us. But they don’t care about our issues, and they are not willing to defend us.

I think it’s clear there is more work that we need to do to foster the political power of Indigenous communities. And I am confident there are individuals from within the Indigenous and African American communities who can fill these seats on the City Council. That would be a key piece in the healing process. But I wonder if other Latinos would allow an Indigenous person to run for office or if they would support that person.

What are the platforms or channels that Mixtec and other Indigenous communities use to make their voice heard?

That is something we need to work toward. Social media, Facebook and YouTube, they’re popular. But our system is still largely word of mouth, by community and network. Each of our towns has its own committee, like hometown associations, which is how we organize. At MICOP we do a lot of civic engagement, encouraging people who are citizens to vote and educating them on the election process, for example. With this scandal, I worry about the damage it’s done to that effort. I worry it will discourage Indigenous people from wanting to be more engaged and have their voice heard. With the current political climate, it just makes the effort to motivate people that much more difficult.

How do you see the community moving forward from here?

It takes time and time is our best friend, but it has to be intentional. The more we embrace our identity, the more we keep fighting and passing our language to new generations… this is powerful. The key is that each culture learns to be proud, and is then willing to share, and to receive. When we mobilize people and communities around these values it makes our world stronger. What happened in Los Angeles is exactly the opposite.