Counter-infrastructure in the US–Mexico borderlands: some archaeological perspectives

ABSTRACT

Massive infrastructures of transportation and border security, designed to control flows of people and things, dominate the contemporary US–Mexico border. Together, these material projects work to inscribe the hegemonic processes of neoliberal capitalism and national sovereignty onto the physical landscape and into everyday life, giving them an aura of inevitability and permanence. Using archaeology, we challenge this narrative by exploring the counter-infrastructures developed by marginal communities in the US–Mexico borderlands – including miners, hippies, and migrants – to navigate and/or resist these projects. Specifically, we compare the shifting fields of in/visibility created by infrastructure and counter-infrastructure from the 1880s to the present to emphasize that bordering projects are neither inevitable nor permanent.

KEYWORDS:

• US–Mexico borderlands
• counter-infrastructure
• mining
• smuggling
• undocumented migration

Acknowledgments

None of this research would be possible without the incredible work of students from three seasons of IFR fieldschools (2012, 2013, and 2021). A special thanks to Pat and Howard Frederick for all their help facilitating survey and excavation at Ruby, and to the community of Arivaca, particularly Jill Farrell and everyone at the Arivaca Action Center. We would also like to thank La Gitana Cantina and our family there: Maggie, Fern, Penny, Joe Broadhurst, Bradley Knaub, Drew Can Do, Mayor Kenny, Sean Rojas, Steve Shepard, Pool Player Gary (RIP), and Ronnie (RIP). Finally, our work would not be possible without the help of Memo, Lucho, Lucy, and the many people who have graciously shared their migration stories with us.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research presented in this paper was funded by the National Science Foundation [award #0939554], The University of Massachusett’s SBS Research Support Fund, The University of Washington’s Royalty Research Fund, The University of Michigan, and The Institute for Field Research.

Notes on contributors

Haeden Stewart

Cameron Gokee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Cameron Gokee

Haeden Stewart is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Jason De León

Jason De León is a Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA