Indigeneity in Real Time: The Digital Making of Oaxacalifornia

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mexican Indigenous peoples organized their lives from afar due to unauthorized migration and the restrictive border between Mexico and the United States. Zapotec and Ayuujk peoples adapted digital technology to their needs, set up their own infrastructure, and designed new digital formats for re-organizing community life across vast distances. This led to the creation of a transborder media space and the implementation of a communal way of life called Comunalidad and an indigenized American Dream.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 17 March 2023
Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Long before the COVID-19 crisis, Mexican Indigenous peoples faced the challenge of organizing their lives from afar, spanning between villages in the Oaxacan Sierra Norte and the urban districts of Los Angeles. This was due to unauthorized migration and the restrictive border between Mexico and the United States. However, in the face of these challenges, Zapotec and Ayuujk peoples took innovative steps to forge their own transnational paths during the Trump era. They achieved this by launching cutting-edge Internet radio stations and multimedia platforms, as well as engaging as community influencers.

This transformative approach involved adapting digital technology to their specific needs, establishing their own infrastructure, and designing new digital formats to re-organize community life across vast distances. Author Ingrid Kummels delves into how mediamakers and users in the Sierra Norte villages and in Los Angeles created a transborder media space and aligned time regimes. By networking from multiple locations, they practiced a communal way of life called Comunalidad and an indigenized American Dream—all in real-time.

The Zapotec and Ayuujk peoples' experiences highlight the resilience and creativity of Indigenous communities in navigating the complexities of globalization and cultural exchange. Their innovative use of digital technology not only facilitated their own social and cultural survival but also showcased the potential for leveraging technology to build stronger, more inclusive communities across borders.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781978834781