UC Santa Cruz

This dissertation explores the emergence and significance of Indigenous waterway sovereignty in the Mexican Pacific borderlands from 1750 to 1934. By breaking away from traditional perspectives, this study evaluates how Indigenous groups leveraged waterways and maritime spaces to oppose European, Mexican, and American forces. It illuminates the potency of waterways as reservoirs of power, casting light on the crucial role of Indigenous water sovereignty in rebuffing external domination. By resisting the enforcement of terrestrial borders, Indigenous-controlled waterways emphasized power disparities in the borderlands, illustrating the malleability and adaptability of racial categories in the late-colonial and early national phases in the Sonora and Baja California-US borderlands.

“By Land and By Sea” scrutinizes the legislative and political infrastructures guiding Indigenous actions and explores the aftermath of Indigenous maritime jurisdiction on the formation of Indigenous-Mexican mestizaje and racial undertakings of American and Mexican societies gleaned from historical narratives, archival sources, and oral histories, unveiling patterns of racial formation, power dynamics, and struggles for autonomy in the borderlands. The dissertation emphasizes the resilience and agency of Indigenous, Mexican mestizo, and Chinese Mexican communities in the Mexican Pacific borderlands, emphasizing their resistance against national politics.

“By Land and By Sea” argues that Indigenous communities’ control of waterways was pivotal in linking disparate environments, populations, and economies, countering the imposition of terrestrial political boundaries in the Mexican Pacific region. By documenting the experiences of Indigenous communities in these regions over almost two centuries of societal shift, the dissertation provides a nuanced interpretation of borderlands history within a settler colonial context. The dissertation demarcates strategic geographical movements, fluid intra-tribal boundaries, and instances of Indigenous-Spanish cooperation, highlighting the co-existence of multiple sovereignties.

“By Land and By Sea” broadens our understanding of the region by emphasizing the significance of Indigenous waterway sovereignty. It underlines the essential role of waterways in linking communities, contesting political borders, and shaping resistance strategies. The dissertation also enriches our understanding of the Mexican Pacific borderlands, casting light on the complexity of power dynamics and the agency of diverse communities in their struggle for autonomy.