Defenders of the Landmark

Dolores Huerta protecting Cesar Chavez's grave. Illustration by Eva Vazquez.

César E. Chávez was a community leader and one of the most influential Latinos in the history of the United States. He and Dolores Huerta, a labor leader and civil rights activist, formed the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). The UFW organized to bring justice to farm workers. The UFW also provided a face for the Chicano movement, which fought for Chicano civil rights. They coordinated huelgas (strikes organized by members of a union) to protest for better work conditions, wages, and equal pay.

Chávez and the UFW worked to organize farm workers into a major labor movement from Nuestra Señora Reina de La Paz. After Chávez died in 1993, he was buried there. Because the site is so important to American history, it is now a national park, called César E. Chávez National Monument.

Take a virtual tour around the park. Where do you think archeological resources might be?

Laws defend Latino landmarks from being forgotten or harmed. Many laws protect the archeological resources at the park. Two of the most important ones are:

1. National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA): Before anyone does anything that might disturb archeological resources at the park, their project must go through a special review process to ensure that it won't harm them.
2. Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA): No one without a permit to do archeology may excavate at the park. If they do - or if they have a metal detector - they can be legally prosecuted.

These laws protect everything that might be underground, including cemeteries and archeological sites. Laws are an important way to protect archeological sites that tell Chávez's stories.

Check out César E. Chávez's office as he left it! NPS photo.