STORIES FROM INDIGENOUS CULTURES 99
Personal encounters with indigenous cultures
Ideas gained from our encounters with indigenous peoples that
later informed our theories and practice of expressive arts began in
mountains and deserts, by rivers and lakes, in hogans, kivas, plazas
and around kitchen tables in conversations with teachers, elders and
artists from these cultures. Although at the time we began these
encounters we were not consciously studying the field of expressive
arts, we feel that our first education in expressive arts actually began
there. Our encounters have been far more than just tourist travel or
interesting adventures. We share some of them here in order to offer
small glimpses into these rich and complex cultures. Each encounter
has planted seeds for our current ways of thinking about nature-based
expressive arts. Our experiences exemplify, most of all, Lewis Hyde’s
(1983) concept of art as a gift, something given to us, bestowed
upon us, but a gift that must move, and we have attempted to keep
the gifts moving by giving back in the ways that we can, offering the
resources that we have.
The Quechua people
For many years the authors have taught graduate classes in crossing
cultures, involving trips to the South American countries of Bolivia
and Peru. The Quechua people are the largest group of indigenous
people in both countries. Each of these countries has a rich cultural
heritage as well as a long history of political and economic struggles.
We have explored the rich culture of the Quechua as evidenced in their
history, geography, spirituality, music, dance and visual art. Bolivia is
one of the poorest countries in South America, and it has the largest
percentage of indigenous people. Our study and work in Bolivia
have included a number of service and educational projects with the
expressive arts, including lectures at the Universidad de San Simon
and working with staff members of organizations that offer services
to street children, young mothers and orphans. We have undertaken
these projects not just to share our own professional expertise but,
more importantly, to provide learning experiences for our students