One of the more common objections to statehood for Puerto Rico is the claim that becoming a state would cause Puerto Rico to lose its cultural identity. People look back on the proud Arizona Territory and see how the brave residents of the Arizona Territory lost their identity when they became a state.
No?
Arizona was part of Mexico, colonized by Spain and then under Mexican rule until the United States gained control of the land which is now Arizona. As a territory, Arizona was characterized by skirmishes among indigenous people, Native Americans who moved into the area as their land was occupied by settlers expanding into their ancestral lands, and those same settlers. There were also lawless opportunists on the frontier, leading to events like the shoot-out at the OK Corral. Statehood brought law and order as well as prosperity.
Yet residents of Arizona, when it was proposed that they join forces with New Mexico to become a state, worried that Arizona “might lose her name, identity and history.” In fact, the gunfights and battles of Arizona’s history are still remembered and both Arizona and New Mexico kept their names. But the territorial period was not Arizona’s golden age.
What about Hawaii?
Arizona isn’t actually the territory that is most often mentioned in this context. We’ve learned that many people believe that the Kingdom of Hawaii became a state and the native Hawaiians lost their language and culture as a result. In fact, Hawaii was taken over by U.S. businesses — after King Kamehameha had already proposed that the islands become a state — and then became a republic before becoming a territory of the United States.
Statehood was extremely popular with native Hawaiians because it offered them greater representation and equality than the territorial period had provided. The loss of the Hawaiian language and culture did not follow statehood; in fact, statehood brought about the conditions that have allowed a renaissance for the Hawaiian language and culture.
Hawaii did not lose her identity when she became a state. Native Hawaiians regained civil rights that they had lost during the territorial period and the years before.
Puerto Rico and identity
Fears of losing identity are not unique to Puerto Rico. Other territories have worried about the possibility. But a territory does not have the sovereignty of a state. Congress has greater power over territories than it has over states. States have more rights than territories. And certainly states have strong identities of their own, just as territories do.
Puerto Rico’s case is complicated by the long history of deception which caused Puerto Ricans to believe that they had free association or some form of quasi-independence.
A History of Deception | Puerto Rico 51st
As an unincorporated territory, Puerto Rico faces inequality, a limited voice in the federal government, and hardships that statehood can repair. With a diminishing population and tax tricks that encourage gentrification without bringing investments to the Island, Puerto Rico faces more threats to her identity than statehood could create.
Reach out to your representatives and let them know that you want the resolution of Puerto Rico’s political status to be a priority in the coming year.
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