Reaffirming Indigenous Identity: Understanding Experiences of Stigmatization and Marginalization among Mexican Indigenous College Students

The historical discrimination of Indigenous groups within Mexican society remains relevant to the experiences of Mexican Indigenous youth in the U.S. Similar to their immigrant peers, Mexican Indigenous students face cultural discontinuities between home and school that affect their negotiation of identity. Still, Mexican Indigenous students also develop their ethnic identities against the backdrop of an existing dominant Mexican mestizo identity. This ethnographic study examines educational experiences of four Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) college graduates and sheds light on colonial structures that continue to marginalize and stigmatize Mexican Indigenous students. Participants attribute their reaffirmation of Indigenous identity partly to college experiences.