Cabeza Matrix: Reclaiming Indigeneity in the Past and Present
First contact narratives by European explorers of the sixteenth century are an important source of information about the human inhabitants, fauna, flora, and topography of the early Americas. Some narratives were written from an immersive point of view, like the narrative of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, and convey many of the first glimpses of Indigenous Peoples of North America and their various cultures.
Cabeza de Vaca, treasurer and sheriff of the doomed Narváez expedition, shipwrecked in Florida in 1528 where he first had several brief interactions with the Calusa tribe of Florida. In search of gold and a place to establish a settlement, the men continued along the rough terrain where they encountered members of various tribes, eventually enslaving several members of the Apalachee and Timucua as guides. After encountering numerous hardships, including attacks by Natives, starvation, and bad weather, all that remained of the 400-man crew were de Vaca and three other survivors. The four men were eventually taken prisoner and spent eight years traveling the coastline around the Gulf of Mexico to Mexico before finding a Spanish settlement in Culiacán in 1536. Along the way, De Vaca encountered seven different tribes in what is now the Southeastern United States.
The story of Cabeza de Vaca is harrowing and paradoxical—filled with suffering, danger, and years of self-described enslavement among several tribes, including the Karankawas and Coahuiltecans of coastal Texas. De Vaca also comes to describe himself as a respected faith healer among many of the peoples who enslave him, and his narrative reveals moments of fondness, nuance, and comradery for his captors.
The issue with Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative, like other explorer narratives about the Americas, is they are outlandishly Eurocentric and exclude Indigenous American voices speaking for themselves. Additionally, de Vaca’s narrative was written over the course of many years after his return, and he had several motives to embellish and alter his saga. However, even problematic and filtered narratives like De Vaca’s reveal much about sixteenth century Indigenous life when we apply contemporary research and Indigenous driven scholarship in order to examine De Vaca’s narrative in a more dynamic and inclusive light.
We are currently working on a mapping project using digital humanities methods and tools to create an interactive map of Cabeza’s journey through the southern portion of what we now call the United States Gulf Coast. This project will be a useful tool of historical and literary importance for a diverse group of learners, regardless of educational level. The Cabeza Matrix will incorporate contemporary research conducted with Indigenous American voices as well as biological and geographical elements into an interactive environment that encourages a more in-depth learning experience beyond reading the narrative alone.
Ultimately, we want to use technology and the theoretical framework of memory mapping to demonstrate the importance of understanding the role of the Indigenous Peoples of the past as a means of better engaging our current moment and our living Indigenous communities.
References
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