Cynthia Bejarano

Reflecting on the concept of frontera madre(hood) as both a methodological and theoretical framework, this collection embodies the challenges and resiliency of mothering along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. More than thirty contributors examine how mothering is shaped by the geopolitics of border zones, which also transcends biological, sociological, or cultural and gendered tropes regarding ideas of motherhood, who can mother, and what mothering personifies.

Gathering Together, We Decide foregrounds the voices of Ndé (Lipan Apache) women and their allies as they defiantly struggle against the construction of the border wall and militarization in South Texas and along the U.S.-Mexico bordered-lands. This archive of diverse materials—legal briefs, essays, poetry, and works of visual art—speaks to larger issues of Indigenous resistance, historical memory, and Indigenous self-determination.