Guadalupe

Church in Guadalupe, 2008 (Photo by Marycarmen Chavez)

Cemetery in Guadalupe, 2010 (Photo by Katy Tipton)

Over the years, Guadalupe has been home to many Latino families including several Mexican immigrant workers. When the Yaqui people fled to Arizona, Anglos here were sympathetic to their plight as refugees and Yaquis were able to find a home in the Salt River Valley's agricultural economy. Catholic and Presbyterian missionaries also supported the community and helped secure land for a legal Town site in 1914.
            They are a tribe of 30,000 people living in Sonora, Mexico and now Arizona. At the turn of the century, thousands of Yaquis migrated to Arizona to escape oppression under the government of Porfino Diaz.

Guadalupe is a Native American and Hispanic community of about 5,500 residents between Phoenix and Tempe at the base of South Mountain. The town proudly maintains a strong cultural and ethnic identity. It is named after the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. Guadalupe was founded by Yaqui Indians around the turn of the century. The town of Guadalupe was incorporated in 1975 and is approximately one square mile in area. It will remain this size since it is surrounded by man-made boundaries; Interstate 10 and the city of Phoenix on the west; Baseline Road and the city of Tempe on the North; the city of Tempe on the South; and by the Salt River Project's Highline Canal on the East.
           The town of Guadalupe has a council-manager form of government. Under the council–manager form of government, the elected governing body such as a city council is responsible for the legislation such as establishing policies and voting. The people in the legislative body are voted into office through public elections to oversee operations and implement policies. The position of mayor is highly ceremonial.
              Something that is very special to Mexican Americans living in Guadalupe is the Yaqui ceremonial festival. This is a seven-week festival that ends on Easter Sunday. Many of the Mexican Americans tried to hold onto their traditions while now accepting the Roman Catholic beliefs and traditions. The Yaquis are descendents of the original tribe that previously lived in Mexico.
            As of the census of 2000, there were 5228 people residing in Guadalupe. There were 1110 households and 961 families residing. 17.46% of people living in Guadalupe were white, 1.07% black or African American, 44.19% Native American, 13% Asian, 2.1$ Pacific Islander, 31.22% from other races, and 72.34% of the population reported to be Hispanic or Latino. The median income for a household was $30,089.
            In July 2008 in Guadalupe, Arizona, 5 individuals and Somos America sued Sherriff Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa county Sherriff’s office (MCSO) and Maricopa county, claiming that they or their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by the police due to being or appearing Latino. The country asked the US district court to dismiss the case but the ruling went forward.
            The ACLU as well as other organizations charged that the policies of Arpaio and the county are discriminatory and violated the 4^th and 14^th amendments, title VI of the CRA of 1964 and the AZ constitution. Arpaio has led a series of crime sweeps in areas with high populations of Latinos. 

- Katy Tipton and Jennifer Sabula

Works cited

  

http://www.guadalupeaz.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={0EEC810A-13EB-43EB-A33E-8DB587C9CDA4}

http://www.guadalupeaz.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={DFA4AFAB-0649-4BCC-9A7C-611FA5F8BDD0}

http://www.city-data.com/city/Guadalupe-Arizona.html

http://www.lasculturas.com/aa/vs_EdithYaqui.htm
www.ACLU.org/immigrants-rights/lawsuit-charging-sherriff-arpaio-illegally-targeted-latinos-maricopa-county-can-go.html
www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.html