Andean and Amazonian Material Culture and Performance Traditions as Sites of Indigenous Knowledges and Memory

Michelle Wibbelsman
2017 Transmodernity  
In this article I argue that material cultural production and performance traditions are key sites of Andean and Amazonian indigenous knowledges and memory. I explore these forms of expression as alternative literacies and call for a scholarly commitment to going beyond talking about indigenous cultures and, instead, engaging with the epistemological frameworks, theoretical perspectives, and methodological approaches these sites of indigenous knowledge, memory, and practice, represent. The
more » ... part of the article briefly traces historical exclusions of indigenous perspectives and the mechanisms that sustained the systematic suppression of indigenous memories and knowledge. In spite of advances regarding the recognition and integration of indigenous voices, material culture production and performance traditions as literacies in their own right continue to be overlooked. The second part of the article centers on a collection of Andean and Amazonian cultural artifacts acquired by the Center for Latin American Studies at The Ohio State University in 2015. Examples from the collection enable an exposition of the significant theoretical and methodological contributions non-Western traditions bring to the broader discussion. Keywords Indigenous epistemologies; Andean and Amazonian alternative literacies; cultural artifacts and indigenous knowledge; Andean and Amazonian performance traditions and memory; Andean and Amazonian Studies pedagogies and methodologies.
doi:10.5070/t471034116 fatcat:6t4bvewanngavmbcsby6zxlnd4