One of the founding disciplinary principles of Chicana/o/x/e2 Studies is a commitment to creating and disseminating knowledge that empowers and rewards communities and not solely academic scholars and institutions.3 To this end, there is an increasing trend in many disciplines for public scholarship that creates meaningful and sustainable collaborations between academics, students, community organizations, and public agencies.4 Many of these research endeavors strive to provide a voice for historically marginalized communities in their ongoing work toward social justice and institutional change.5 The original Peoples of Utah project, developed and completed in conjunction with the American bicentennial, went a long way in providing voices to the many racial and ethnic groups that were mostly overlooked in the historical social, economic, and political construction of the state.6Fifty years later, Peoples of Utah Revisited (POUR) is one of the Utah Historical Society's contributions to America250, the fast-approaching 250th commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.7 A particular aim for POUR, much like the original Peoples of Utah, is to include the experiences of all communities that contributed to the development of what is now recognized as Utah prior to, during, and after Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization. The current collection of Latinx oral histories for the POUR project builds off of previous oral histories collected in the 1970s—Spanish Speaking Peoples of Utah; the 1980s—Hispanic Oral Histories; and the 2020s—Construyendo Latinidad (Constructing Latinx Identity).The recent POUR and Construyendo Latinidad oral histories are collaborations with Dr. Ed A. Muñoz, a University of Utah Ethnic Studies faculty member; his students; the Genealogical Society for Hispanic America (GSHA)–Utah Chapter; the University of Utah Marriott Library; and the Utah Historical Society. While institutionally archived separately, POUR and Construyendo Latinidad oral histories are similar in nature because they employ the same interview guide (see appendix 1). However, they recruited narrators differently, which allowed for a greater Latinidad diversity in the POUR archive. In oral history research, a narrator is the person being interviewed, the person who is telling their story. In any case, topics discussed in all four separate collections are similar, including but not limited to family history and life, community development, migration to Utah, culture, work, education, challenges living in Utah, historical events, and ethnic identification.Construyendo Latinidad began as a traveling museum exhibit collaboration between Muñoz, the Wyoming State Museum, and the Wyoming State Archives when he was a University of Wyoming faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and director of the Chicano Studies Program, and prior to his arrival at the University of Utah in 2013.8 Seven years later, during the 2020 spring semester, came the development of the Community Engaged Learning (CEL) oral history project, Construyendo Latinidad (Constructing Latinx Identity) in the Intermountain West.9 The Utah Historical Society became a partner through relationships cultivated with the GSHA–Utah Chapter and for the Peoples of Utah Revisited project. In detailing the origins, development, and sustainability of these endeavors, we demonstrate the value of collaborative research between academics, public agencies, community organizations, and, equally important, student and volunteer researchers.Both authors of this essay, Ed A. Muñoz and Marylinda Gonzalez, have had encounters in and out of the classroom with individuals who are seemingly amazed that there are Latinx communities in Utah despite their existence in the region for centuries. A great deal of this wonder comes because popular histories of the United States, both in the past and up to the present, often portray a Eurocentric point of view. Different regions of the United States have different racial and ethnic relations, further exacerbating this issue, especially for marginalized communities that developed outside of historically recognized enclaves, such as the Mexican Southwest, the Puerto Rican Northeast, and Cuban Miami.10 Chicanx/Latinx Studies academic programs are a step in the right direction for providing a corrective lens to both highly Eurocentric and traditionally regional perspectives.11Muñoz, a self-proclaimed Nebrasqueño (Nebraskan, born and raised), long ago discovered both negative and positive insights into issues of identity and belonging through his undergraduate Chicanx Studies and social science courses at the University of Nebraska. On the negative side, a guided tour during a criminology course field trip revealed that José Hernandez was the Nebraska State Penitentiary's first incarcerated individual in 1869 shortly after the granting of statehood.12 This revelation represents the historically tenuous relationship between Latinx communities and the United States criminal (in)justice system.13 On the positive side, his uncompleted senior research thesis uncovered the tactical intellect of the Black, New Mexican, and Indigenous scout José Naranjo, the lead guide for most all of the Spanish incursions onto the Great Plains at the turn of the eighteenth century. Sadly, Naranjo's life ended with the catastrophic Pedro de Villasur reconnoitering expedition onto the Great Plains of Nebraska in 1720.14 Muñoz's sociohistorical perspective and curiosity about Latinidad increased through his graduate studies and joint faculty appointments in Sociology and Criminal Justice Departments, with Latino/Chicano/Ethnic Studies Programs.Gonzalez's sociohistorical perspective developed in a similar fashion. However, as a recent 2025 University of Utah graduate, her understanding of Latinidad, or identity, is still in its nascent stage. Gonzalez, the daughter of two Mexican immigrants, grew up in Kearns, Utah, an area with one of the largest proportions of Latino residents in Utah.15 Despite growing up in an area with a large Latinx presence, issues of Latinidad and Latinx history were not taught in her K–12 education. Additionally, since she deemed her parents “recent” migrants, arriving in the United States in the 1970s and 1990s, she initially felt that Latinxs as a whole were new additions to Utah.Gonzalez better experienced Latinx history during her first-year, first-generation learning community course, “Diversity Scholars: Land and Labor.” Yearning for more about her Chicana identity, Gonzalez added a Chicano/a Studies minor and enrolled in additional Chicanx/Latinx Studies courses and ultimately pursued an Ethnic Studies major with a Latinx Studies emphasis. Upper-division Latinx Studies seminar courses, where oral history interviews are part of the course requirements, emphasized for Gonzalez that Latinidad has always been present in Utah, even predating the state's commonly told history.For example, in “Utah's Diverse Latinidades,” Gonzalez reflects on learning through her oral history training that Latinxs have precolonial roots in Utah, with Uto-Aztec language tying Native American tribes in Utah to the Southwest, Mexico, and Mesoamerica.16 This work highlighted not only the precolonial roots of Latinxs in Utah but also their Spanish colonial roots. The history that Gonzalez learned from reviewing past oral history interviews allowed her to better connect with her parents, as she now understands that the identity of her and her family is not a recent arrival but that it has a long history in Utah.Anthropologist Arlene Dávila explains how Latinidad is the ongoing social, economic, and political construction of Latinx identity that for the most part portrays Latinxs as a homogenous, static racial and ethnic minority.17 Recent scholarly work, however, shows the rich and nuanced intersectional agency of Latinidad, an ethnic identity that works to resist marginalization and oppression. This historical and contemporary agency has permitted Latinx communities to thrive, even in locations where their presence is sparse and less documented, such as the Intermountain West in general and Utah in particular. Newer Latinx communities benefit from earlier Latinx community development and social organizing, while they simultaneously help to reinvigorate Latinx cultural practices including but not limited to Spanish language retention, traditional cuisine, and cultural celebrations. In other words, an intersectional Latinidad is one that is diverse with regards to national origin, racial and ethnic identity, bilingualism, class status, gender identity, generational status, and regional existence.18The aforementioned traveling museum exhibit “Construyendo Latinidad: The Hispanic Mexican Influence in Wyoming, 17th–21st Century” is a prime example of how Latinidad is an evolving complex process.19 The exhibit reinforced the sociohistorical Hispanic influence in the Intermountain West from approximately the mid-sixteenth century and up through the early nineteenth century, legitimizing a northern New Mexico and southern Colorado Hispano/Manito identity. Even so, the exhibition showed how fur trading at the turn of the nineteenth century, later sheep and cattle ranching, and mining and railroad industries hastened Mexican mestizaje20 in the Intermountain the turn of the century, increased and the Mexican programs much to further the Mexican presence and also began the development of an Intermountain Puerto Rican Hispano/Manito and Mexican are much in Utah oral history completed in the 1970s and with Puerto Rican Latinidad to a experienced racial and ethnic in social, economic, and political the century, which to and to Mexican American communities that to to the historical and cultural of Latinx migration from Mexico, and and the since have and Intermountain West Chicanx communities and developed new and more diverse Latinx for has with the of negative that to and individual and institutional Many individuals to such but this often Latinidad, as individuals to into The ongoing of and to is also part of an intersectional This intersectional Latinidad is much more in POUR and Construyendo oral histories completed at the turn of the value of the museum exhibit became with and through public the Wyoming Latinx and individuals were with the diverse historical of the Hispanic community in Wyoming and many including Muñoz, was the of the and expedition in of an from New Mexico, to that began in to the of the Declaration of in Even the the to increased and between Indigenous Spanish and Mexican the through and Utah; and New the University of Utah, as with other Community Engaged Learning (CEL) students, faculty and community to knowledge in in to community while also While is not its including but not limited to community partner with student learning through and most important, to community In completed the of a academic a Muñoz learned about the Spanish Speaking Peoples of Utah oral histories archived through the University of American West This with knowledge of the Wyoming Hispanic oral history the to “Construyendo came the development and of a project in Muñoz's Ethnic Studies In to and research in both completed interviews after training in oral history Even courses in Latinx became a for oral history oral history project in the seminar Criminal and the uncovered The interview guide was narrators was a and there were for and interviews that were on and to the of oral history to it to and interviews in the 2020 spring seminar of Latino The began with an which allowed to with one to work in groups more later in the which to completed oral histories from the Spanish Speaking Peoples of Utah and the Hispanic to their different and historical the academic Muñoz to the to of oral histories archived in Construyendo a student in the 2025 spring semester, reflects on the of these her Gonzalez to an oral history with because was from Mexico, like was a who to Utah the Mexican Gonzalez that her was born in years her While family not later, Mexican communities were being Gonzalez was that to Utah as early as this project. While on this this oral history with parents, and we it were the Gonzalez on how the oral histories with the early Construyendo Latinidad oral Gonzalez an oral history with a member of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic In Gonzalez on the between and oral example, interview was mostly in Spanish, was a family was in Mexico, while her roots to Colorado and New The was the that was to an at the University of Utah to the the Chicano which ultimately allowed to a social the community for many for Gonzalez, the Construyendo Latinidad highlighted how Utah Latinxs have oral history narrators developed when a and community Muñoz to the Genealogical Society for Hispanic The Hispanic and historical research education, and to and knowledge of Hispanic culture, and with learning for the Ethnic Studies the Muñoz the GSHA–Utah a to oral history In to this Muñoz became a the at the in his commitment to the Muñoz an to as of the for two This early two volunteer narrators for to interview during the 2020 spring GSHA–Utah Chapter ended in 2020 with the of the and Muñoz's with the University of Utah allowed for for which in the the in that when narrators during the oral history project. to out through the Marriott or their now their University of Utah to oral the of the to that limited individual for both and research became a for while providing and of individual oral the first oral history on the same was a for since both and for and limited of However, the of limited narrators to Latinx who since a was not at the In Muñoz for a of since only allowed for interviews that were in or interviews about in were to of to Muñoz, who to for Muñoz with students, who were to narrators for additional and for their for into the these for interviews and it became that to how to additional were developed for course interview one and provide a on what they learned and how they their for when they completed an interview with their Many narrators were that they had the to about their life experiences and that their were being and and director an Muñoz interview what to not he that he to interview because or have a that a with for her in the in the her to her and that her all these to that have a she University of Marriott this early with and the Spanish Speaking Peoples of Utah archive. in creating and the Construyendo Latinidad oral history in their collections and to the scholarly and community to for during class and the during the two years the Construyendo Latinidad of oral The interviews as as and Seven were completed students, with completed Muñoz and other volunteer The of narrators were GSHA–Utah Chapter and the of these individuals their Latinx roots to the Colorado and New Mexico This is similar to the original Peoples of Utah oral history but different in that most came to Utah at an early with their parents, who were in of with a being born in the the original Peoples of Utah, not one of the Construyendo Latinidad narrators was a from Mexico or any other American The had at years of with many a and with graduate of the narrators after in community development, or the of these narrators also about how they were still in community through their that their and community were or from their in programs that began in the of the example, a became political when the University of Utah and in Chicano Studies and in the to a in after for and the of of for student was to after her experiences for their student with limited experiences communities are in a of the interview her first after at The had a of all the were The were in from were that in their were The was to students, but that they came from into this there were two that and other in her taught at with mostly we from have this that to have taught in a that had different this from oral history her experiences as a student her and community the oral narrators are for their about the which was as an identity during the there is a similar about Latinidad and Latinx as racial and ethnic these an and about and in the interview guide narrators are for their racial and ethnic identity early in the interview their family community and work historical events, and experiences with are they to more about their racial and ethnic identity and they like to their earlier on what was discussed during the course of the the increased diversity in the Utah Latinx since the there has been a in how on a of individual and institutional in their and American Mexican, Mexican, and The two from director of the community development demonstrate how Latinidad is and came of in the of the Chicano Despite early in life, she has had a with her work in and more with her at with from all of including Muñoz, as one of the of the Latinx community on this work However, her identity is much more complex her highly in the Latinx about her racial and ethnic identity, that she was and she was a Puerto Rican and only out about the identity as a grew up was Puerto but On her side, from of they out in in the and ended up in New or New parents came from New Mexico and her family came from a in the and the who her came from Puerto to the about Latinx identity, in the additional not only for but for other in her family both and Latinidad is even more narrators recruited for the Peoples of Utah Revisited oral history with a topics such as New Mexican historical about member family and academic research In director of what was the Utah of State Utah Historical to the about the work of her agency and the to individuals and this the about the for the of Utah (POUR) is to further the of project, which first much on the and often histories of ethnic of the ongoing Construyendo Latinidad project, Muñoz an to with and their Peoples of Utah Revisited to the and Muñoz on the of an additional Latinx interviews on the that they in the POUR is to that the POUR is also with the University of Marriott The POUR oral history work was with a that allowed for the of two which Muñoz to on was the help of the Peoples of Utah Revisited Community work was in creating a more diverse of both Muñoz and This a of narrators that were much more on the of Latinx migration and the same interview for the Construyendo Latinidad oral the Utah Historical Society's institutional the of the oral the of This in to the approximately two years to the Construyendo Latinidad oral the POUR oral only two were students, and only two narrators were with the GSHA–Utah one of the narrators their Latinx roots to the Colorado New Mexico their Latinx roots from Mexico, from Puerto four from other two from outside of the Southwest, and from POUR narrators were also much with only two in their years and the narrator in her Many of the narrators in the while in endeavors outside of their and were discussed to the of the as as for and of example, Puerto Rican narrators discussed how the in had a of migration to the United Gonzalez, a self-proclaimed the that life was right now in Utah because of it the the in Puerto for a of and out of the were to The of the Gonzalez a from to Gonzalez how but he a to Utah and was to and while was was still in because it was it from one to the in Utah later on and are of a traditional Puerto Rican that Indigenous and The in is popular and the for this of Puerto Rican to in a generational with earlier Puerto Rican arriving in the to century, as this from Dr. a and cultural in Utah, an of Puerto that came in the and to work in the which are a different the of Puerto have after the are also more a different the social and political for migration from in to the of increased and a Mexican American member of the of of an member of the and being a member of the and but there are that are as being a person of that right now to a and there are of and is and a because we have in a and is and and a the as a whole like in being a a because and not like are to like like to and ethnic are especially because many narrators Indigenous and cultural roots. A from an have been to to about In Puerto in Puerto which was one of the that the Spanish and of first on the was to to the in which is a is on the of Puerto a which is further explains her identity when for racial and ethnic identity, and in the she an for Utah Latinidad: on the have to what and what because In Puerto is and with like a culture, because like in and a of have to a to and Black, and Indigenous creating communities that and in Utah, like have to the community where to and been to being in Utah, in the and an increasing of are to Utah and the is a have to of collection of oral histories is one of to to the Peoples of Utah Revisited with the of who was community the GSHA–Utah Chapter first and are to of a particular or historical Utah Historical Society work to and the of and other of and is a of GSHA–Utah in Utah, a now recognized as a a and University of Utah his to Utah and how they roots. was born in the New Mexico of but his family to in when he was an the to he was and his in and with his Construyendo Latinidad the to the POUR provide a into of an family in the Chapter two the at the Community This was the first since the of the and other traditional Latinx were the and the The to a in of the same with and The to a for a the in are director and and these two a of for into the for to the Peoples of Utah Revisited is for and to and This to the of a Latinx community research that sustainable and for the of research that scholars strive to scholarship is to when institutional and community are and to we collaboration in for which in turn research to student allowed Muñoz to and a Latinx oral history their that are outside of the and cultural to a A from the 2025 spring class of Latino an the only person in a class and with in Spanish language and Latinx the student felt out of like they were on a for Latinx as the this student became because their and Muñoz that perspective was this positive in Ethnic Studies much because that all Ethnic for of to and their histories and for we to that there are other histories and the been part of Ethnic Studies has much of and the been as a person in the Gonzalez her knowledge on oral to interview her during her trip to This is part of her to oral histories as a way to in her programs such as the University of and the for are in toward a in with the of a Latinx to Muñoz his with the GSHA–Utah in new and This work the for the collection of oral histories with and In the Criminal Justice and the four of four criminology and criminal justice In his for Muñoz to both the Construyendo Latinidad and Peoples of Utah Revisited which it to these the Marriott Muñoz has on two with oral history and Hispanic also a of for a In his recent and collaboration with the Utah Historical Muñoz in the became a and with he to student for Utah and in with his is a to with the 250th commemoration of the Declaration of provide for and they are also a learning for Muñoz in his ongoing of Latinx public history to the early development of this with the Peoples of for and Muñoz had Gonzalez to Muñoz and Gonzalez have of the at the POUR research and the for Chicana and Chicano Studies In Gonzalez the lead on a POUR The project how Mexican and Puerto Rican work to Utah Latinidad, and it was at the Muñoz, in collaboration with undergraduate student and the Marriott and with from the for is a exhibit that the Construyendo Latinidad of the exhibit first on Latinx Criminal Justice The exhibit during de in the of the GSHA–Utah Chapter one of the in a museum exhibit for the of the new of Utah in The exhibit is a of the ongoing collaborative work completed with the Peoples of Utah Revisited and disseminating the intersectional experiences and agency of Latinidad is work in of the current political of in are to and the contributions of of who are not part of the is oral history is for the Peoples of Utah Revisited This oral history with is being in person The narrator in is a about about family to first have of the challenges been of living in have a ethnic identity and we about
Muñoz et al. (Thu,) studied this question.