Resources for Educators
Primary Source Exercise
A primary source is a first-hand, original account, record, or evidence about a person, place, object, or event. Oral histories, objects, photographs, and documents such as newspapers, ledgers, census records, diaries, journals, and inventories, are primary sources.
We have created some primary source sets and analysis tools that you may find useful in teaching your students about the Hispanic/Latino history and culture of Colorado, and the Colorado Chicano Movement.
*Pictured above, students using the CSU Pueblo Archives.
CSU Pueblo Primary Source Sets
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Chicanos at Colorado State University Pueblo
Letter, David Vigil, Pres. C.U.F.A., to Pauline Spinuzzi, Affirmative Action Officer, Southern Colorado State College, May 12, 1975. David Vigil Papers, University Archives.
- What are the students asking for in terms of hiring
- What do they appear to be upset about?
- What is C.U.F.A.?
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The Penintentes of the Southwest
Background: The Penitentes were a Hispanic lay brotherhood that arose in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The Penitentes practiced voluntary self-punishment to atone for their sins, as part of their religious beliefs. These could include whipping, wearing cactus on their backs, lashing with fence wire, among others.
Book excerpt: The passionists of the Southwest
The holy brotherhood: a revelation of the Penitentes by Alex. M. Darley. Pueblo, Colo. : 1893.
- What is the role of women in Penitente gatherings?
- What methods of penance do the Penitentes use?
- From what perspective is this document written?
Newspaper Article, Chicago Tribune, Scourge with whips, February 25, 1894.
- How does this Eastern newspaper reflect ideas about the Penitentes to its readership?
- Choose one image that stands out to you and explain why you picked that image.
- If you only read this article, what would you think about their practices?
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Hispanic/Latino Primary Sources Sets for Pueblo and Additional Resources
CSU Pueblo Archives primary sources and analysis tools for Hispanic culture, history, politics, education, Latino veterans, and the Colorado Chicano movement and other resources, may also be found here:
- Latino History Project
- CSU Pueblo Digital Repository
- Colorado Chicano Movement History Portal
