Ecologies of adaptation for Mexican Indigenous im/migrant children and families in the United States: Implications for Latino studies

Mexican Indigenous im/migrants are a growing community made invisible at the margins of multiple racial, cultural and linguistic spaces in Mexico and the United States. This article addresses the need for a nuanced understanding of the adaptation of Mexican Indigenous im/migrant children and families that encourages Indigenous communities' cultural and linguistic knowledge to be recognized and valued, rather than silenced and stigmatized. We critically examine the existing literature on the adaptation of Mexican Indigenous im/migrants in the United States from the perspective of socio-ecological systems theory, incorporating insights from the theory but also pointing out its limitations for understanding Mexican Indigenous identities and experiences in diaspora. We propose integrating language-ecological approaches to provide a more complete picture of Indigenous ecologies of adaptation in the United States. We conclude that it is critical to expand research on Mexican Indigenous im/migrant adaptation within the field of Latino studies and identify possible directions for future research. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.