“Dancing The Comanches” – The Santo Niño, La Virgen (of Guadalupe) and the Genízaro Indians of New Mexico

Abstract

The obituary for Ologia Sanchez above, speaks to her importance as the matriarch of a large family, that includes my own children Bernardo, Mario, Rosalea (deceased), whose mother Mary Jane (deceased) was Ologia’s youngest, as well as my Grandchildren Janelle, Nicolas, and Oliver. It also provides an entrée into the following essay, that explores the complex and now inextricably connected relationships between Catholicism, colonialism, education and Indigenous practices.