Lake Worth — Javier del Sol's bronze skin and quick tongue in English and Spanish did little to win the favor of neighborhood kids in the Mexican community where he grew up.
Though his family was Mexican like most in his Los Angeles neighborhood, they were of Indian descent. That heritage, del Sol said, banished them to the bottom of a deeply entrenched racial hierarchy among Latinos that is little understood by non-Hispanic whites.
"For 500 years, the Indian people have been told that indio is a derogatory word," said del Sol at a forum held by the American Indian Movement (AIM) of Florida on Friday.
Thirty people gathered at St. Andrew's Church to hear del Sol, director of the Palm Beach County chapter of AIM, and other Native American activists speak about ethnic stereotypes and common cultural misperceptions about Native Americans. The day's events included a concert featuring indigenous music.
AIM became prominent in the 1970s for its bold confrontations with the federal government in support of Native Americans' rights. Today it has chapters throughout the country that seek to educate the public about Native Americans.
According to the 2000 census, Hispanics surpassed African-Americans as the largest minority group at 35 million. But the indigenous heritage of scores of the 20.6 million Mexicans and other South Americans in that figure was not accounted for, del Sol said.
Many have come to deny their indigenous roots out of shame, he said. Daphne Choto, head of Miami-Dade County's AIM chapter, agrees.
"The lighter-skinned child is better, more beautiful and is perceived as having a better future," said Choto, who is of Salvadoran Mayan descent and has traveled often to El Salvador and Mexico.