“Mexicans” or Hispanics?

In trailing Nana and his warriors back and forth across the border, I’ve struggled with accurately reflecting 19th Century terminology while accommodating 21st Century sensibilities. For example, contemporary sources and earlier historians generally referred to Hispanic New Mexicans as “Mexicans.” In fact these people were American citizens and had been since the territory was acquired by the U.S. with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. Since many New Mexicans today resent being referred to as Mexicans, proudly tracing their lineage not to Mexico but to the Spanish colonists of the Second Entrada, I’ve generally tried to refer to those of Nana’s time as “Hispanics.”