Hostile Terrains is an interdisciplinary exhibit exploring the intersection of place, policy, and landscape in and around Milwaukee on display through February at UWM’s Emile H. Mathis Gallery. Curators include more than 30 UWM faculty, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students. Hostile Terrains is centered on the installation Hostile Terrain 94, put together by the Undocumented Migration Project and directed by anthropologist Jason De León, which is composed of over 3,200 handwritten toe tags that represent migrants who have died trying to cross the Sonoran Desert of Arizona between the mid-1990s and 2019.

In teaching about the topics raised in this exhibit, the Migrant Death Map by Humane Borders may be useful for your students to interact with. Radiolab’s Border Trilogy Podcast may also be helpful to delve into more detailed stories. For literary resources, pick up a copy of De León’s book “The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail” from the University of California Press, or explore the recommended reading list that the Undocumented Migration Project offers.