2020-2024
During the pandemic, I was introduced to the Kusi Kawsay Association. Virtual conversations resulted in an invitation to work with a small group of youth who participate in cultural revitalization activities in supported by one of the association’s projects, Ñawpa Ñan (Ancient Path). For three years, a young woman, Lised, organized and taught youth how to create films from their worldviews. She is the leading author of our first published article from the community. She, along with her sister Alondra, also were instrumental in making possible the cultural exchanges to neighboring communities of Tequile and Ceilan within Peru. Please visit culture exchanges link for more infomration on those excursions.
Key Insigths.
Holistic and Relational Learning
Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy
Cultural Revitalization and Resistance
Select Films.
Medicine, Coffee, Food, Fable
Writings.
From ruins to resistance: decolonizing narratives through Indigenous youth dialogues
Lised Sullani Soria, Ruben Apaza Quispe, Donna DeGennaro, Kaylan Nicole Ganus, & Blake F. Wiggs
This paper explores the infiltration of colonial education and influence into Indigenous communities and highlights how decolonial methodologies illuminate these issues. By drawing from Indigenous methodologies, we center the voices of two Quechua youth, ensuring the research benefits Indigenous communities and promotes equity. Lised and Ruben lead the narrative set in June 2021, revealing their interpretations of colonization amidst the cultural heritage of the Quechua people in Peru. Our deliberative storytelling approach reflects our commitment to decolonizing methodologies, providing a nuanced understanding of colonial legacies within Indigenous contexts. The three non-Indigenous co-authors act as bridges, aligning academic expectations with the words, analysis, and determination of these young Indigenous leaders.