We Are Not Gone: Indigenous Thought and Contemporary Social Movements

Popular media’s sensationalist portrayal of “ancient” cultures like the Aztec, Maya or Inka often trend towards the mysterious with a common perception being that these cultures are “lost” or were eradicated by European colonization. The reality is that they live on in descendant communities that comprise a dynamic mix of genetically intact and hybrid, admixed populations. Their connection to the past is also a complex mix of uninterrupted ancient tradition as well as intermingled or syncretic combinations of indigenous and non-indigenous practices. These practices and traditions have served as the foundation for grassroots social and environmental justice movements.

From the Zapatista conflicts in Mexico and Guatemala, Oaxacan teacher’s protests, to the native Andean push for environmental and social equity in Ecuador and Peru as well as the election of South America’s first indigenous president in Bolivia, indigenous cosmologies have been at the center. We will look at the deep roots of world views that treat landscape as family and collaboration as sacred, tracing them back over 2000 years into the past. Importantly, we will also explore how these perspectives inform the diverse identities and values that make up modern indigenous, Chicano and “Latino” movements throughout the Americas, taking care to note that the Indigeneity is not a monolithic whole, but a living dynamic process extending back millennia.

Our teacher:
Dr. Roberto Herrera is an anthropological archaeologist studying the interaction of landscape, ecology, ritual and power in both deep antiquity and descendant communities.
Think Olio is presenting this event in co-sponsorship with the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.

Price: $20  ($15 for BSEC members)
For Tickets, visit:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-are-not-gone-indigenous-thought-and-contemporary-social-movements-tickets-385645866167