‘We are not going anywhere’: How Indigenous braids have become an act of resistance and healing

You can’t miss them. The striking braids are woven with delicate lace and vibrant ribbon. It’s the statement and an Indigenous art that two SoCal Latinas are using as a form of open activism against the ongoing ICE raids and to support undocumented communities.

Dulce Flores and Angie Portillo, co-founders of Ponte Your Moños, have braided thousands of trenzas, intricate braids that have roots dating back thousands of years before the Spanish colonization of Mexico.

Today, amid the ongoing ICE raids, the two say it’s their message:

“The braids signified a way for us to just show that we're here,” Flores said. “We’re here, and we're not going anywhere.”

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The women behind Ponte Your Moños use traditional ribbon braids as a form of open activism and resistance.

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Courtesy of Ponte Your Moños

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Since June, they’ve organized over two dozen pop-up events, braiding the hair of over 2,000 people.

Proceeds have gone towards people who have been detained by ICE and to support immigrant families afraid to go out for necessities like work or groceries.

“It made me feel anger. At the same time, we needed to figure out a way to really come together and do something to fundraise and give back to the community,” Flores said. “That's how Ponte Your Moños really came together – to braid because it was an act of culture and care and resistance, and also a space where Latinos and other individuals can come together.”

Ponte Your Moños, translates to “Put on your bows.” The name of the initiative was inspired by a Mexican expression, “No te pongas tus moños,” or “Don’t put on your bows,” which means don’t be demanding or intense. But Flores and Portillo flipped its meaning and now say, do that and more.

“Fashion is political,” Portillo said. “You don't like us, so I'm going to show you in your face that I don't care. I'm very proud of what I'm wearing, of what I am … y soporta porque (and deal with it because) we are not going anywhere.”

Indigenous communities wore trenzas as part of daily life, for celebrations and self-expression.

“(Braiding) carries that history, the identity, the ancestry,” Flores added. “Braids here for Latinos have become a visible way of expression of their pride and their resistance.”

Alexandro José Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at Cal State Fullerton, said the history of the trenzas interwoven with the ribbon mark survivance – a type of survival, resistance and existence mixed together.

“In many ways, the style survived despite multiple historical attempts to wipe it out,” Gradilla said. “The everyday existence of most Latina, Latino people, especially immigrants, is invisibility. These trenzas are definitely about being seen, but more importantly, being seen on one's own terms.”

Flores said today, many Latina women are wearing them as a symbol of cultural appreciation, pride and to make a statement.

What role does hair play in politics? 

The two had taken a page from history during the Chicano Movement when Zoot Suits were used as a form of resistance.

Gradilla said visibility makes braiding an important political tool, a form of activism that calls attention to oneself.

“It is about understanding the mainstream gaze of how we are looked at, either we're sexualized or we're looked at as criminals. When one self-fashions or self-creates, you're saying, ‘No, this is who I am. You do not get to impose or project your stereotype or your image of me onto me,’” Gradilla said.

The ribbon braids were worn by Indigenous women during times of conquest and also by the Adelitas, the female soldiers of the Mexican revolution, he added.

“Now you're seeing a modern twist on it in many ways. I would call it a form of Rasquache politics,” Gradilla said. Rasquachismo is a resourceful form of political expression to reclaim narratives and stereotypes. “You can still be wearing your hoodie, your jeans, but you have these trenzas, and that's what makes it Rasquache, you're mixing two cultural forms into one.”

Flores said Ponte Your Moños is about solidarity and storytelling.

“Beyond this project, Ponte Your Moños really creates a space of healing and education and cultural expression, especially (with) what's going on,” Flores said. “It's a way for us to really connect back with our culture, but at the same time, show that resistance and also give back to the community that is being affected.”

The initiative’s next pop-up is part of the Galentine’s Day Pop-Up Estez Beauty Bar and Spa at 2615 W. 190th St in Redondo Beach from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.