The Stigmatization and Resilience of a Female Indigenous Mexican Immigrant

Abstract

This case study examines the autobiographical writing and interviews of Lupe, an Indigenous Mexican immigrant, at multiple times in her life. The case study is contextualized within social, historical, psychological, and institutional spaces both in the United States and in Mexico. Consequently, Lupe’s journey is an example of how stigmatization and discrimination are critical issues affecting the educational experiences of immigrant adolescents in American schools. The case study, however, is also evidence of an immigrant youth’s perseverance, the factors that positively influenced her resilience process, and her ability to overcome the stigma placed on her throughout her education. Currently this college educated, Mexican, Indigenous women works as a teacher for a school with a predominantly low-income, Latina/o immigrant population.