Greeley – In a city where a sign once hung that said “No Dogs or Mexicans,” local Latinos will now get more of a say in how they are viewed through the prism of history.
A group of Latinos has started working with the city in preserving the history and interpreting the lives of people who came here to work more than a century ago and now make up 30 percent of the local population.
The city currently features Latinos in some of its exhibits, including an adobe home that houses a scale model of Latino workers’ homes in the 1920s. But museum officials and members of the Latino Advisory Committee say there needs to be a broader understanding of Latinos’ contributions.
They say it also may ease tensions in Greeley, which has seen controversy over illegal immigration and the role of Latinos in the city.
“This will maybe help show that we have been here for generations and not everyone is here illegally,” said Tanya Trujillo-Martinez, vice chairwoman of the advisory panel.
Greeley was in the national spotlight in December, when federal agents raided the Swift & Co. meatpacking plant in a U.S.-wide sweep of illegal workers.
Local activists complained the raids produced unnecessary pain for Latino families that have worked in Greeley, illegally and legally, for years.
This followed a proposal by Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck in 2005 to bring an Immigration and Customs Enforcement sub office to Greeley to help handle illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes.
The move led to loud protests and harsh rhetoric from people on both sides of the illegal-immigration issue. One of those was Joy Breuer, leader of the Greeley for God ministry, who told a lawmaker in 2005 that without an ICE office, “Greeley will be a Mexican town within five years.”
Breuer said she’s fine with more Latino exhibits and programs at Greeley’s museums, as long as they are accurate.
“If they can prove the history actually happened, then I am for it,” Breuer said. “But if it’s going to be ‘Oh, poor us, look what happened to us’ and it didn’t really happen, then we will have a problem.”
Museum officials say they sought creation of the advisory panel to broaden the materials in the museum system and its appeal. “The museum staff and members really felt we needed to make a concerted effort to draw different parts of the Latino community,” said Georgia Wier, folklorist with the City of Greeley Museums.
The advisory group is looking at several efforts, such as bringing in more bilingual exhibits and tour guides, creating a timeline of Latino history in Greeley and getting local Latino students involved in the museum.
Committee member Sandi Elder said the group wants to tell the stories of several Latino groups and how they contributed to Greeley’s growth.
“Puerto Ricans, Colombians were just some of the people that became part of the community,” she said.
The cessation of hard feelings over race issues may be tough to achieve, however. A story about the advisory group in a local newspaper drew several comments on the paper’s website, including: “That’s all we need, a shoplifting problem in our museums.”
Still, a clearer picture of Latino history could allay some fears, Elder said.
“Maybe people will see that just because a group is a little bit different doesn’t mean you have to fear them.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
