Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide »
Like other statues in the same year, those of California missionary Junipero Serra were targeted by hostile demonstrations, with inscriptions and stains of red paint symbolizing the blood and crimes of the man and the system he represents. Yet this man, who led the ev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre de Recherches sur les Mondes Américains
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/93359 |
| _version_ | 1797307741992124416 |
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| author | Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant |
| author_facet | Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant |
| author_sort | Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Like other statues in the same year, those of California missionary Junipero Serra were targeted by hostile demonstrations, with inscriptions and stains of red paint symbolizing the blood and crimes of the man and the system he represents. Yet this man, who led the evangelization effort in Upper California in the late 18th century was canonized in 2015. This canonization, the fruit of a long effort, was carried through by the first Latin American Pope, Francis, who clearly integrated it into a sequence of defending Mexicans and Mexican-Americans against the attacks from the Republican Party and in particular Donald Trump, who had just launched his campaign. This canonization can thus be understood as an effort to value the original Spanish contribution to the construction of what would later become the United States. With this choice, Pope Francis went against his own policy further south, where he had proposed an apology from the Catholic Church for the violence against the indigenous populations during the Conquest and colonization. Yet, for the groups, especially indigenous ones, that have targeted the statues and denounced his canonization, Serra is the representative of a system that contributed to the cultural and physical destruction of indigenous societies, not only through evangelization but more generally through the forced colonial system of missions and forced labor. Serra's figure is illuminating of the intertwined conflicts, tensions, and dominations still active today, linked to the imperial and colonial legacies of American nation-building. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:00:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2117a5c28ba54c22acb3c889727a32ca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1626-0252 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T01:00:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherches sur les Mondes Américains |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos |
| spelling | doaj.art-2117a5c28ba54c22acb3c889727a32ca2024-02-14T16:45:50ZengCentre de Recherches sur les Mondes AméricainsNuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos1626-02522023-10-0110.4000/nuevomundo.93359Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide »Emmanuelle Perez TisserantLike other statues in the same year, those of California missionary Junipero Serra were targeted by hostile demonstrations, with inscriptions and stains of red paint symbolizing the blood and crimes of the man and the system he represents. Yet this man, who led the evangelization effort in Upper California in the late 18th century was canonized in 2015. This canonization, the fruit of a long effort, was carried through by the first Latin American Pope, Francis, who clearly integrated it into a sequence of defending Mexicans and Mexican-Americans against the attacks from the Republican Party and in particular Donald Trump, who had just launched his campaign. This canonization can thus be understood as an effort to value the original Spanish contribution to the construction of what would later become the United States. With this choice, Pope Francis went against his own policy further south, where he had proposed an apology from the Catholic Church for the violence against the indigenous populations during the Conquest and colonization. Yet, for the groups, especially indigenous ones, that have targeted the statues and denounced his canonization, Serra is the representative of a system that contributed to the cultural and physical destruction of indigenous societies, not only through evangelization but more generally through the forced colonial system of missions and forced labor. Serra's figure is illuminating of the intertwined conflicts, tensions, and dominations still active today, linked to the imperial and colonial legacies of American nation-building.https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/93359United StatesNative AmericansCaliforniaMissionsColonization |
| spellingShingle | Emmanuelle Perez Tisserant Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » Nuevo mundo - Mundos Nuevos United States Native Americans California Missions Colonization |
| title | Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » |
| title_full | Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » |
| title_fullStr | Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » |
| title_full_unstemmed | Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » |
| title_short | Abattre ou défendre les statues de Fr. Junipero Serra, « père fondateur », saint « hispanique » et « père génocide » |
| title_sort | abattre ou defendre les statues de fr junipero serra pere fondateur saint hispanique et pere genocide |
| topic | United States Native Americans California Missions Colonization |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/93359 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emmanuellepereztisserant abattreoudefendrelesstatuesdefrjuniperoserraperefondateursainthispaniqueetperegenocide |