1867: A SNAPSHOT OF MILITARY OCCUPATION IN NEW MEXICO
By Ellen Dornan
“The 1867 U.S. Topo Bureau map showing the Old Territory and Military Department of New Mexico, ‘compiled in the Bureau of Topographic Engineers of the War Department chiefly for military purposes under the authority of the Secretary of War,’ captures New Mexico in the midst of one of the most violent and unhappy periods of its history.”
BEYOND THE MACABRE: EDGAR ALLAN POE AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HORROR
By Chrysta Wilson
“Edgar Allan Poe’s status as the father of contemporary horror is so fully entrenched in the American psyche that his portrait is instantly recognizable to people who have never read his work.”
CELEBRATING THE DEAD: DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS AND ALL HALLOWE’EN
By Nicolasa Chávez
“Many people do not know the origins of this fun – and fright-filled night, nor of the similarities its origins share with Día de los Muertos.”
MIGUEL TRUJILLO
By Gordon Bronitsky
“What was it about the postwar situation in New Mexico that encouraged Indians – and Trujillo in particular — to push for the right to vote?”
AMERICA’S CONSTITUTION: A MACHINE THAT DOES NOT RUN BY ITSELF
By Christian Fritz
“The protection of democracy is not simply the obligation of elected officials and the courts. Rather, the preservation of constitutional democracy rests on the willing engagement and widespread participation of the people…”
INVIGORATING METAMORPHOSIS
By Jack Loeffler
“The flow of Nature has carried me through many rapids as I row my way through my decades. Running rivers in my own raft has inspired the enduring metaphor of my lifetime.”
WHY IS EL PASO IN TEXAS?
By Ellen Dornan
“Today, Southern New Mexicans frequently cross the border to El Paso, TX to enjoy shopping and entertainment, perhaps appreciating the culture without understanding the long history of why El Paso feels so much more familiar than other Texas communities. Arguably, El Paso is the oldest New Mexican settlement. So how did it end up in Texas?”
HISPASIAN
By Melissa Auh Krukar
“The questions are always the same: ‘Where are you from?’ or worse, ‘Where are you really from?’ or worse yet, ‘What are you?'”
GROWING UP “COYOTA” IN NEW MEXICO
By Nicolasa Chávez
“Did being a coyote make me any less New Mexican? What exactly did it mean to be a ‘Coyota’ in New Mexico?”
MAP OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY, NORTHERN TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO, SHOWING THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES
By Ellen Dornan
“Josiah Gregg’s 1844 map is ostensibly included in Commerce of the Prairies to help the gentle reader follow the ‘Wild West’ adventure to an exotic, foreign destination, but that neutrality is quickly belied by a closer look.”