Abstract
Intersectionality arose as a strategy to understand how oppression operates simultaneously on multiple aspects of a person’s identity. As such, it provides a useful framework to recognize how gendered performances, racialized identities, and religious adherence shaped relationships between Europeans and Indigenous communities along with the enduring ramifications arising from initial contacts through today. Interrogating how Indigenous leaders, particularly of Caddo communities, interacted with Roman Catholic missionaries of New Spain offers an opportunity to understand broader relationships to power situated in intercultural negotiations of intersectional identities. These relationships are integral to archeological interpretations of the use and meaning of cultural materials.
Résumé
L'intersectionnalité est apparue comme une stratégie afin de comprendre comment l'oppression fonctionne simultanément sur des aspects multiples de l'identité d'une personne. À ce titre, elle fournit un cadre utile pour reconnaître comment les performances genrées, les identités racialisées et l'observance religieuse ont façonné les relations entre les Européens et les communautés indigènes au même titre que les ramifications durables ayant découlé des contacts initiaux jusqu'à nos jours. S'interroger sur la manière dont les dignitaires indigènes, en particulier ceux des communautés Caddo, interagissaient avec les missionnaires catholiques romains de la Nouvelle Espagne donne la possibilité de comprendre les relations plus vastes de pouvoir situées dans les négociations interculturelles des identités intersectionnelles. Ces relations font partie intégrante des interprétations archéologiques de l'utilisation et du sens des matériaux culturels.
Resumen
La interseccionalidad surgió como una estrategia para comprender cómo la opresión opera simultáneamente en múltiples aspectos de la identidad de una persona. Como tal, proporciona un marco útil para reconocer cómo las actuaciones de género, las identidades racializadas y la adhesión religiosa dieron forma a las relaciones entre los europeos y las comunidades indígenas junto con las ramificaciones duraderas que surgen de los contactos iniciales hasta la actualidad. Interrogar cómo los líderes indígenas, particularmente de las comunidades Caddo, interactuaron con los misioneros católicos romanos de la Nueva España ofrece una oportunidad para comprender relaciones más amplias con el poder situadas en negociaciones interculturales de identidades interseccionales. Estas relaciones son parte integral de las interpretaciones arqueológicas del uso y significado de los materiales culturales.
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Acknowledgements
This article benefited from comments and discussion with several colleagues. I express my gratitude for their comments on this work’s clarity, particularly Suzanne Spencer-Wood and Jennifer Cantu Trunzo for their feedback on manuscript drafts. Additionally, I want to thank the other participants involved in the 2018 Society for Historical Archaeology meeting session where the first version of this article was presented for their conversations, discussions, and contributions to my thinking about these matters. All errors and omissions are solely my responsibility.
The author is the sole researcher of this work. No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript. The author is not aware of any financial or proprietary conflicts of interests in any material discussed in this article.
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Rutecki, D.M. At the Crossroads: Intersections at Colonization. Arch 18, 45–71 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-022-09441-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-022-09441-6