Month: July 2024

This post is way late. But after a week of reflection (in my overheating apartment) in Vancouver, I feel I should share some final thoughts in order to conclude this blog. 

When I think back upon the beginning of this experience, I reflect on the end of the first week in Lima: I marvelled to Morgan about how much had happened in such a short amount of time, and how much time there was still left to go. I could go on to say how fast the time went by, but I’m sure you all know that by now. I learned a lot over the course of 7 weeks. Although the “Making and Unmaking of Indigeneity” was an overarching theme of this course, the lessons and reflections I take home with me extend far beyond the lessons learned in the classroom. 

What does it mean to be Indigenous to a place? When looking at grand scale contexts, histories, and politics- this question can create definitions that are murky. However, I think the exploration of this concept has allowed for introspection into our own identities in correlation to place. I’ve often found myself bewildered during this trip that the people that I have become close with in South America are people who I may never have met back at home. The versions of them I’ve grown to know being different from their normal’s back in Vancouver. I think about the different version of me that will be remembered by people I’ve met in Peru.

Jason: the Italian/Peruvian shop owner who shared his stories and his gelato at the base of Sacsayhuaman- bringing his two homes together through a sweet dessert. 

Nial: a filmmaker who attended Kusi Kawsay, but spends his time with the Squamish nation in BC. He wants to make a film about Indigenous education systems. 

Estaban: our friend at Pisac Inn, who watches many people travel in and out of his workplace. Finding friendship in a group of excitable students studying Indigeneity in the Andes

All of you: curious intellects from all walks of life- fate crossing our paths for 7 weeks in the Andes. 

I don’t know if I know how to properly summarize all my final thoughts and feelings into a single blog post. But I do know that I will hold my time in Peru and our experiences together very near and dear to my heart. From conversations over delicious food, to late night shenanigans, to a cheeky terrace cigarette here and there, It’s been a pleasure to get to know all of you. I hope we will cross paths again someday in Vancouver. 

With Lots of Love

Grace (aka Elk Island)

Hi team. I had hella food poisoning when this blog post was due. But Jon told me “better late than never” so here is my post about Mariategui’s Seven Interpretive Essay’s.

To be honest, I’m grateful to have been able to sit with Mariategui’s text a little longer before writing this blog post. One of the ways in which this has been a blessing has been being able to connect Mariategui’s text with our viewing of The Motorcycle Diaries. Having heard some of Mariategui’s ideas being quoted within the film honestly gave me a little more perspective into what Mariategui was trying to say about how the Indigenous revolution will be economic. One of my favourite of these occurred when the main protgranists Ernesto (Che) and Alberto.

“Mariátegui basically talks about the revolutionary potential of the Indians and peasants of Latin America. He says that the problem of the Indian is the problem of the land. And that the revolution will not be copy or imitation but the heroic creation of our people. We are too few to be divided, he says. Everything unites us. Nothing divides us.”

Mariategui believes that the social injustices Indigenous peoples face in the Andes stems from land distribution and exploitation of labour. The systematic oppression deeply seated in feudal systems of argricultue. I really enjoyed having read Mariategui’s text before watching Motorcycles Diaries. I feel that it is one thing to read about injustices like this through text. To have a academic understanding. But growing to know people on a personal level makes these types of injustices so much more heart wrenching. In Motorcycle Diaries, we grow personal connections with the people that Che and Alberto meet on their journeys. Their stories all following a similar pattern of injustice. These stories of the exploitation are not lost on Che and Ernesto.

When Che quotes Marategui, he is realizing how foreign policy has uprooted and displaced Indigenous peoples in the Andes. Their modes and qualities of lives would be much better if given control over their own lands and policies.

“Everything unites us. Nothing divides us”. I really loved this quote. In this sense, Che’s acknowledges the connection we all share with one another, and ultimately moves him to be a part of the revolution to fight against this systematic oppression.