This collection, created by RIM@SI Fellow Ashley Naranjo from the Smithsonian Office of the Undersecretary for Education, includes a video interview and testimonial with Emilia Castañeda (April 10, 1926). Castañeda was a young Mexican American girl when she and her family were forced to leave their home and deported to Mexico from the United States in the 1930s. The interview includes a first-hand account of the impact of the federal government's forced removal of Mexican Americans.

Complementary resources to the short film include: Smithsonian Libraries' graphic organizers for evaluating historical sources, a Smithsonian Folklife and Cultural Heritage guide to conducting an oral history, and additional articles, videos and podcast files highlighting this history. The collection encourages users to consider how societal, political and environmental forces/challenges influence migration.

Use this collection as an extension to the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes' collection, Unconstitutional Deportation of American Citizens in the 1930s. 

#EthnicStudies #BecauseOfHerStory #ReimaginingMigration

Keywords: unconstitutional deportation, Mexican Americans, repatriation, Great Depression, close listening, Re-imagining Migration