'Difficult Maps'

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Drawings of two Chamiza Plants found growing in areas that formed part of the Chamizal Land Dispute.

In both cases, this land was part of Mexico before being given to the USA in 1964.

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The Chamizal Dispute was a border conflict over approximately 600 acres caused by a shift in the route of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River south, leading to US encroachment on previously Mexican land. This movement was first mapped in 1852 but only finally resolved by JFK in 1964 (during the Cuban Missiles Crisis) to follow the 1911 arbitration recommendations previously rejected by the US. 

The agreement awarded 366 acres back to Mexico, in the process displacing many Latino communities that had built there during the intervening years, and gave 193 acres to the USA.

The conflict was named after the Chamiza plant, a four winged salt bush. this plant has adapted to survive the arid, saline conditions surrounding the rivers banks. every part of the plant has been used by indigenous communities for centuries; as food, shelter and medicine for various ailments and diseases.

Pen on Paper, 2022