Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- Included in this collection are 5 linear feet of research materials that include county records of marriage, birth and death certificates, documentation on civil cases, articles and photographs, correspondence, as well as other vital statistics and genealogical information related to the Punjabi Mexican Americans in California.
- Extent:
- 7.5 Linear feet (14 manuscript boxes, 1 flat box)
- Language:
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Karen Leonard's Punjabi-Mexican American papers (M1808). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Punjabi Mexican American collection consists of Karen Leonard's research materials, which were the basis for her book MAKING ETHNIC CHOICES; CALIFORNIA'S PUNJABI MEXICAN AMERICANS (1992), as well as for the PBS documentary ROOTS IN THE SAND (1998).
Karen B. Leonard is Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. Her interests in the Asian American community let to the research she conducted on the intercultural relations that developed between immigrant Punjabi men and women of Mexican descent during the early 1900s. Through her research, Prof. Leonard was able to conduct interviews and gather vital statistics to recreate the many aspects of survival, politics, class, language and religion that these two groups experienced.
- Biographical / historical:
-
In the early twentieth century, men from India's Punjab province came to California to work on the land. The new immigrants had few chances to marry. There were very few marriageable Indian women available in California, and miscegenation laws and racial prejudice limited their ability to find white Americans. Discovering an unexpected compatibility, Punjabis married women of Mexican descent and these alliances inspired others as the men introduced their bachelor relatives and friends to the sisters and friends of their wives. These biracial families developed an identity as "Hindus" but also as Americans within intricate religious contexts.
This collection documents the sociocultural interactions between Punjabi men and women of Mexican descent that took place during the early 1900s. This collection also documents some aspects of the agricultural history of California from north of Sacramento to the southern part of the state.
- Acquisition information:
- This collection was a gift from Karen Leonard to Stanford University, Special Collections in February, 2011.
- Processing information:
-
Collection processed by Everardo Rodriguez.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The materials are open for research use. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
- Terms of access:
-
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Karen Leonard's Punjabi-Mexican American papers (M1808). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Department of Special Collections, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6004, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022