Betwixt And Between: Liminality in El Paso,TX and Colonia Juarez, MX

FAIN: PY-258635-18

El Paso Community College (El Paso, TX 79915-1914)
Lisa Elliott (Project Director: May 2017 to March 2021)

Creation of a digital archive to document descendants of the Colonia Juarez settlement living in the El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, area.  Colonia Juarez was settled as one of eight Mormon Colonies in Mexico in the late 19^th century.  Many residents have traveled between Texas and Mexico or lived in both places.  The project would aim to increase awareness of this “liminal” population, scanning materials in both El Paso and the Mormon Colonies and holding a public history lecture in Texas.  Members of the community would be invited to contribute photographs, journals, and other memorabilia for digitization, and specially trained students would collect oral histories.  The collected artifacts and stories would be integrated into the “3D Digital Wall” at El Paso’s Museum of History and compiled into a digital research guide.  A public lecture at the El Paso Community College, delivered by a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso, would elucidate this little-documented borderland history.  The applicant would collaborate with the El Paso History Museum, the University of North Texas, and representatives of the Mormon Colonies to engage community members and promote the preservation and use of digitized items.

The El Paso Community College (EPCC) Communication and Performing Arts department proposes a project that will digitize artifacts (photos, journals, and other memorabilia) of descendants of Colonia Juarez, Mexico.  At present, there are several hundred descendants of the Colonia Juarez settlers living in the El Paso/Juarez area. They represent a theme that is common to many living in a border community, including some of our students - the feeling of being "betwixt and between" and not really belonging, or fitting in, to either place. EPCC students will digitize artifacts gathered from this community to be displayed for view by the public on the El Paso History Museum's Digital Wall, on an EPCC Library Guide, and will be the topic of a community lecture.

Associated Products

Top of Mind "Mormon Colonies: Mormons in the US-Mexico Borderlands" (32:58) (Radio/Audio Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Top of Mind "Mormon Colonies: Mormons in the US-Mexico Borderlands" (32:58)
Abstract: The FBI has joined the investigation into the murder of three women and six children in Northern Mexico last week by suspected cartel gunmen. The victims were dual US-Mexico citizens from a community that identifies as “Mormon” but is not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Last week on Top of Mind, we spoke with an expert on the independent –or fundamentalist –Mormon communities in Mexico –some who practice polygamy, some who don’t. There’s also a community of Mormons who are actively affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have been rooted for generations on both sides of the US-Mexico border. They are a fascinating example of the way many people living at border see it as a fluid boundary, not at all clear-cut.
Date: 11/13/2019
Primary URL: http://www.byuradio.org/episode/f2e678d7-6323-4718-a7c8-767e8d6388f3/top-of-mind-with-julie-rose-latin-america-precrastination-mormon-colonies?playhead=1978&autoplay=true
Primary URL Description: This link is to the "Top of Mind" website and is the link to the show on which Lisa Elliott is featured talking about the Mormon Colonies.
Access Model: The URL is open-access but to listen to it on the radio requires a Sirius XM subscription.
Format: Radio
Format: Web

Between Two Worlds: Learning About the Lives of Mormon Settlers in Colonia Juarez, MX and El Paso, TX (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Between Two Worlds: Learning About the Lives of Mormon Settlers in Colonia Juarez, MX and El Paso, TX
Abstract: Learn the history of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico and how the folklore concept of liminality has played a role in the settlers’ lives and relationships with Mexico and the United States. Attendees will also hear directly from people whose lives are connected to the Colonies and will receive items and guidelines to help them in collecting their own heritage.
Author: Lisa Elliott
Author: Clay Bench
Author: Vera Pratt
Author: Carol Hatch
Author: Mike Mullen
Date: 11/5/19
Location: El Paso Community College, Valle Verde Campus

Between Two Worlds: Learning About the Lives of Mormon Settlers in Colonia Juarez, MX and El Paso, TX (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Between Two Worlds: Learning About the Lives of Mormon Settlers in Colonia Juarez, MX and El Paso, TX
Abstract: Learn the history of the Mormon Colonies in Mexico and how the folklore concept of liminality has played a role in the settlers’ lives and relationships with Mexico and the United States. Attendees will also hear directly from people whose lives are connected to the Colonies and will receive items and guidelines to help them in collecting their own heritage.
Author: Lisa Elliott
Author: Clay Bench
Author: Vera Pratt
Author: Carol Hatch
Author: Mike Mullen
Date: 11/7/19
Location: El Paso Museum of History

Mature Living 1378 (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: Mature Living 1378
Writer: Mary Yanez
Producer: Caryl Barquin
Abstract: Lisa Elliott is interviewed by Mary Yanez about her NEH Common Heritage Grant "Between Two Worlds".
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZkD_O06BZM
Primary URL Description: This is a link to the EPCC-TV YouTube channel where the episode that aired in December 2019 featuring Lisa Elliott can be viewed.
Format: Video

El Paso Community College, Museum of History to host programs on Mormon settlements (Blog Post)
Title: El Paso Community College, Museum of History to host programs on Mormon settlements
Author: Staff Report
Abstract: An online newspaper article written to promote the public programs associated with the "Between Two Worlds" grant.
Date: 10/25/19
Primary URL: http://https://elpasoheraldpost.com/el-paso-community-college-museum-of-history-to-host-programs-on-mormon-settlements/
Primary URL Description: This URL links to the article written about the public programs associated with the "Between Two Worlds" grant.
Blog Title: El Paso Community College, Museum of History to host programs on Mormon settlements
Website: El Paso Herald Post

Betwixt and Between: Liminality in El Paso, TX and Colonia Juarez, MX Library Gude (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Betwixt and Between: Liminality in El Paso, TX and Colonia Juarez, MX Library Gude
Author: Kristin Sanchez
Abstract: This library guide is a research resource that includes the primary source items that were digitized for this grant and related secondary sources such as books, articles, and websites related to the topic.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://epcc.libguides.com/betwixtandbetween
Primary URL Description: This URL is linked to the El Paso Community College Library Research guide that was put together in support of this grant.
Access Model: It is open access and no subscription is needed.

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