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More Questions Than Answers: A Final Reflection
I took a lot away from this class as both a student and Mexican-Canadian woman. I loved starting the class with the Popol Vuh and discussing seeing the human need to understand our origins stemming from the engaging text. Where we come from appears to be a question that has baffled humans across the globe.…
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The Falling Sky (Pt.2)
In this final section of the book, I was captivated by the varying images placed at the beginning of each chapter. I found it interesting how they varied in intricacy and design. For example, take the skyscraper in chapter 20. Here it is a fairly straight forward drawing of a somewhat 3-D building. However, when…
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The Falling Sky (Pt.1)
The book so far has been a very interesting read. I appreciate engaging in environmentalism from an indigenous lens and it was something I was personally very curious about going into this course. With Kopenawa’s descriptions of how “white people” have come in and ignorantly destroyed Yanomami’s surrounding natural life, I think we have come…
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“Our Word is Our Weapon” (Pt.2)
“A people without a past can have no future.” “Our Word is Our Weapon” resonates with me personally since it touches on the country my family calls home. I appreciate Marcos’ words as it has enlightened on the subject of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, offering a firsthand account of resistance and resilience. His…
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“Our Word is Our Weapon” (Pt.1)
“Our Word is Our Weapon” by Subcomandante Marcos differs from many readings as it is more so a political manifesto as it takes readers on a thought-provoking journey through the struggles, aspirations, and ideologies of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. From the very beginning, Marcos pulls back the curtain on the harsh realities faced…
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I, Rigoberta Menchú (Pt.2)
As I read through the passages, I was completely engaged. This text feels more accessible and direct than the other texts we have been reading. While the transcription process has controversies, I understand why it won the Nobel Peace Prize. Overall, it captures the struggles, resilience, and triumphs of Rigoberta Menchú while offering profound insights…
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I, Rigoberta Menchú (Pt.1)
“I’d like to stress that it’s not only my life, it’s also the testimony of my people” (p.01). This quote resonated with me because it speaks to the question of voice. As we have been discussing in class, having a voice to share one’s experiences appears to be a common theme within the texts we…
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Yawar Fiesta
José María Arguedas offers an entry point into the complex intersection of indigenous Andean culture and Western influence in Peru through his text “The Yawar Fiesta.” As we explore this annual festival, it is interesting to see how it symbolizes the struggle between indigenous and Spanish colonialism. One of the first things that came to…
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The First New Chronicle and Good Government (Pt. 2)
As I approached the final pages of the “The First New Chronicle and Good Government,” I found Guaman Poma’s account to be an interesting entry point into pre-Columbian Andean societies and the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Towards the end, Guaman Poma walks the reader through his thoughts on the consequences of colonization but…
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The First New Chronicle and Good Government (Pt.1)
As we, the readers, open the door to Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s “The First New Chronicle and Good Government”, they must come prepared to engage in the unique viewpoint of an indigenous Andean nobleman. The text opens with a description on its utility, giving us a brief glimpse of South American life in the…