ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a quote from one of the most influential cultural theorists of the late twentieth century, Gloria E. Anzaldua, that problematizes mestizaje and "new tribalism" and is integral to her theory of the borderlands. A mere five years after the publication of Borderlands, Anzaldua began speaking about a new tribalism. The term itself and how Anzaldua began to conceive of it was the result of disparaging critical engagement with her work. A careful reading of Anzaldua's new tribalism reveals that it is not tied explicitly to antiquity; however, there are other equally problematic aspects. Indigeneity and the claiming of Aztlan as a mythic homeland were central to early Chicano nationalism and guiding principles of the Chicano civil rights movement, el movimiento. Chicano identity politics recognized and embraced an Indigenous past and cultural heritage while simultaneously asserting that conflict and contact with European invaders gave birth to the Chicano people.
