June 5th is the anniversary of the Tierra Amarilla courthouse raid in New Mexico in 1967. Led by Reies Lopez Tijerina, leader of La Alianza de Federales Mercedes, a Chicano land grant activist organization. This event was a climax in a series of actions Tijerina and others brought about bringing attention to the injustices of stolen land in Northern New Mexico. It was such a threat to the established order that the National Guard was brought in to crush the movement he started.
The struggles over land remain a legacy of colonialism, and resistance has been conducted in different ways ranging from legal to armed.
This video below gives an overview of this historic day in Chicano liberation.
At the end of this video there is a more recent interview with Tijerina and his thoughts of promoting the identity of Indo-Hispano. There has long been debate about identity within the Chicano movement, and Tijerina’s views are one part of that. Posting this does not imply endorsement or affiliation.