In Queering Mesoamerican Diasporas: Remembering Xicana Indígena Ancestries (University of Illinois Press, August 2022), Susy J. Zepeda, an associate professor of Chicana/o/x Studies, highlights the often overlooked yet intertwined legacies of Chicana feminisms and queer decolonial theory through the work of select queer Indígena cultural producers and thinkers.

By tracing the ancestries and silences of gender-nonconforming people of color, she addresses colonial forms of epistemic violence and methods of transformation, in particular spirit research. Zepeda also uses archival materials, raised ceremonial altars, and analysis of decolonial artwork in conjunction with oral histories to explore the matriarchal roots of Chicana/x and Latina/x feminisms. As she shows, these feminisms are forms of knowledge that people can remember through Indigenous-centered visual narratives, cultural wisdom, and spirit practices.

About the author

Zepeda, is an associate professor in the Chicana/o Studies department at the University of California, Davis (Patwin land). Susy (she/they/ella) was born on Tongva lands in Monterey Park, California to Adela and Armando Zepeda, Mexican migrants from El Limon, Jalisco and Chínipas, Chihuahua respectively. She is a former 5th grade teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District, and from 2013-2014, Zepeda was a Visiting Assistant Professor with the Social Justice Initiative at UC Davis.

Zepeda’s scholarly work is intentionally transdisciplinary, decolonial, and feminist in a community-centered and grounded way. Her research and teaching focus on: Xicana Indígena spirit work, decolonization, critical feminist of color collaborative methodologies, oral and visual storytelling, and intergenerational healing.

View the book at University of Illinois Press.