Modern Challenges
This Mesoamerican civilization was known for its advanced writing system, mathematics, and intricate calendars.
What is systemic inequality (or discrimination)?
This vibrant weaving tradition, often used in clothing and textiles, is a hallmark of many Andean Indigenous cultures, especially in Peru and Bolivia.
What is weaving (or textile art)?
This Mexican revolutionary, whose image often includes a Zapata-style mustache, became a symbol of Indigenous and peasant resistance in the early 20th century.
Who is Emiliano Zapata?
Many Indigenous communities in the Amazon rely on this massive river system for transportation, food, and cultural practices.
What is the Amazon River?
This Mesoamerican civilization was known for its advanced writing system, mathematics, and intricate calendars.
What are the Maya?
The Inca Empire in the Andes developed this sophisticated knotted string system for record-keeping and communication.
What is the Amazon rainforest?
The Kichwa, Aymara, and Guaraní are among the many Indigenous groups in Latin America striving to revitalize and preserve these.
What are Indigenous languages?
This Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, famously rose up in 1994 to demand Indigenous rights and autonomy.
What are land rights?
The struggle against large-scale mining projects, often on ancestral lands, is a major focus for Indigenous groups asserting their right to this.
What is territorial rights (or land rights/sovereignty)?
The Inca Empire in the Andes developed this sophisticated knotted string system for record-keeping and communication.
What is a quipu?
This powerful Mesoamerican empire, with its capital Tenochtitlan, was known for its extensive trade networks and fierce warriors.
What is land title (or secure land tenure)?
The traditional use of Ayahuasca or Wachuma (San Pedro cactus) by many Indigenous groups in the Amazon and Andes falls under this category of practice.
What are traditional spiritual practices (or sacred ceremonies)?
Led by Túpac Amaru II, this large-scale rebellion in the late 18th century sought to overthrow Spanish colonial rule in the Andes.
What is the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)?
This Indigenous practice involves working communally on the land, sharing resources, and often rotating labor among community members.
What is minga (or ayni or mita in a traditional sense)?
This powerful Mesoamerican empire, with its capital Tenochtitlan, was known for its extensive trade networks and fierce warriors.
What is the Aztec Empire?
The Nazca Lines in Peru are enigmatic geoglyphs created by this ancient culture, whose purpose is still debated by archaeologists
What is cultural heritage (or cultural identity)?
The "Day of the Dead" (Día de Muertos) in Mexico, while adapted, has deep roots in the reverence for ancestors found in this pre-Hispanic civilization's beliefs.
What are Aztec (or Mesoamerican) beliefs?
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Guatemala, is a prominent advocate for the rights of this Indigenous group.
Who is Rigoberta Menchú Tum?
The concept of "Pachamama" in Andean cultures refers to this sacred entity, embodying the Earth Mother and fertility.
What is Mother Earth (or Earth Mother)?
The Nazca Lines in Peru are enigmatic geoglyphs created by this ancient culture, whose purpose is still debated by archaeologists.
What is the Nazca culture?
This ancient city, often called "the lost city of the Incas," served as a royal estate or sacred site high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
What is colonialism (or historical oppression/marginalization)?
This vibrant and diverse tradition of storytelling, often passed down orally, serves as a crucial way to preserve history, values, and knowledge in Indigenous communities.
What is oral tradition?
In Ecuador, this powerful confederation of Indigenous nationalities has played a pivotal role in national politics, often leading protests and advocating for Indigenous rights.
What is CONAIE (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador)?
Many Indigenous communities consider rivers, mountains, and forests to be living beings with spirits, reflecting a worldview known as this.
What is animism (or spiritual ecology)?
This ancient city, often called "the lost city of the Incas," served as a royal estate or sacred site high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
What is Machu Picchu?