Ethnoracial Attitudes and Identity-Salient Experiences Among Indigenous Mexican Adolescents and Emerging Adults

This interdisciplinary study drew on Critical Latinx Indigeneities and Nigrescence Theory to conduct a mixed-method analysis of the ethnoracial attitudes and identity-salient experiences of Indigenous Oaxaqueno adolescents and emerging adults living in the United States. Results revealed that compared to emerging adults, adolescents endorsed higher self-hatred and lower multiculturalist inclusive attitudes. The ethnoracial attitudes of adolescents', but not of emerging adults', were correlated with their reported discrimination from mestizo Mexican peers. Narrative analysis revealed four types of experiences that defined what it means to be Oaxaqueno: cultural practices, ethnoracial discrimination, connection, and a disconnect with an Indigenous identity. Findings highlight the need for existing ethnoracial identity theories and scales to consider the multiracial and colonial structure within which Latinx youth develop their identities.