Indigeneity & Identity Poetic Resistance

The intersections of a Nahua identity with poetry, textile work, technology, and making.

The book nook I aimed to create was one that I wanted to encompass some aspects of who I am. Poetry is important to me and I think it's very powerful. When I read a poem that I love, it makes me feel something and it sticks to me. For someone looking at my book nook, I would want them to experience a similar feeling.

I chose to focus on three poems of mine, incorporating making skills that I felt were connected and could support the themes and things I convey about who I am through my poetry.

The three poems are below:

Technology and Process

I chose to work with circuits, origami, textile work, and embroidery. All of which are connected to my identity and Nahua heritage. Combining circuit with textile work is an extension of the cultural making I am already familiar with. A common saying among my community is that our hands are all we have so origami is also connected to this because it very much involves working with and being aware of my hands and what they can make. I think that involving these technologies in my making adds to its meaning and demonstrates how making isn't necessarily disconnected from identity, even if it strays from traditional making practices. Our class discussed extensively on broadening the definition of who is a maker and what making should encompass. My book nook aims to add to that dialogue as an example of what it means to connect and intertwine identity in making.

I think that the process of creating the book nook was difficult because I was unsure of how I could convey what I wanted to through a book nook, but after settling on specific poems, the making process was much smoother. I feel like I had a good grasp on the direction I wanted to go and what I wanted to make. If I could do anything differently, it would be starting out with a more broad idea then breaking it into smaller pieces. I might have chosen different poems as well.

I found that throughout the creation of my book nook, I went back to my poems over and over again. I was thinking a lot about who I am and what makes me who I am, and so much of that is my identity as a Nahua person. My mother is also central in my identity which is why I chose to include the poem about Indigenous mothers. I ended up choosing things that I mentioned in my poems to create my book nook: flowers, skulls, land, nature.

By: Bri Alonso-Vazquez for INLS 690, Information Professionals in the Makerspace