“We the people”: Migrant Waves in the Making of America

July 10 – July 21, 2023

"We The People"

Migrant Waves in the Making of America

NEH Summer Institute

Explore migration as a constant in U.S. history through a focus on the untold and silenced stories of people of color often left out of traditional narratives. Teachers will read young adult literature, visit museums, interact with scholars and authors, and engage in hands-on inquiry.

We will first immerse ourselves in a case study of Arizona, the last continental state added to the union, to examine the histories that have been erased and to learn humanities research strategies. Teachers will then use these research strategies to plan a study of silenced stories in past and current waves of migration in their states.

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Proclamation

Cuk Son is a story.
Tucson is a linguistic alternative.
The story is in the many languages
still heard in this place of
Black Mountains.
They are in the echo of lost, forgotten languages
heard here even before the people arrived.

The true story of this place
recalls people walking
deserts all their lives and
continuing today, if only
in their dreams.
The true story is ringing
in their footsteps in a
place so quiet, they can hear
their blood moving
through their veins.
Their stories give shape to the
mountains encircling this place.

Ofelia Zepeda, from Where Clouds are Formed (2008). University of Arizona Press.