“The Hongi (pressing noses) is something we do when we greet someone…The sharing of the breath connects our Mauri (life force). We are no longer separate. We are one!”
Carmen TePuke (kahr-men tay-poo-kay), culture holder
“By holding on to the main axis of where we come from we'll understand this modern world and globalization.”
Nivardo Carillo Guttierez (nee-vahr-doe kah-ree-yo ggee-terr-rez), artist, reenactor
“We Quechua people live far from the state. For us, the state is another nation. They have never come to our communities to ask how things work. We have even built the schools ourselves.”
María Sumire (mah-ree-yah soo-mee-ray), language defender, legislator
“The spirituality of our Inca ancestors lives in our way of life. In the way that we remember where we come from in order to have a stronger presence in this world.”
Puma Quispe Singona (poo-mah kees-pay sing-oh-nah), healer, spiritual leader
“We are returning to the old systems—ayni, family, agriculture. As there is no economic movement, this is how we are living.”
Rocío Cjuiro Mescco (roh-see-yoh kweer-oh mess-koh), water protector, activist, guide
“My grandmothers speak Quechua—my family passed their roots onto me…This is where my social responsibility to protect, value, respect, and love Quechua as well as our ancestors was born.”
Renata Flores Rivera (ray-nah-tah flaw-rayz ree-veh-rah), singer, language preservationist
“For us, the bridge is the soul and spirit of our Inca (ancestors) that touches & caresses us like the wind. If we stop preserving it, it would be like if we die"
Victoriano Arisapana (veek-tore-ee-ah-no ah-ree-sah-pah-nah), chakacamayoc (bridge master)
“Share the richness of the culture, of your community … concentrating your memory in that celebration.”
Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez (neel-dah kahl-lahn-ahl-pah ahl-varh-rez), founder Traditional Textiles Center
“We children have inherited an ancient culture which understands that everything is interrelated, that nothing is divided and nothing is outside.”
David Choquehuanca (dah-veed choke-ay-wahn-kah), vice-president Bolivia
“Each individual has tremendous power to change his world. We are a microcosm of the universe itself so how we behave, how we take care of ourselves reflects in the earth.”
Ronald Wadsworth (rah-nold wahdz-werth), silversmith
“Each student is corn. We need to remember our roots. We need to remember…the things that give us nourishment & love, things that help us to grow.”
Daniell Albert (dan-yell ahl-burt), interdisciplinary graduate, dancer
“Our traditional ways will always be there and it's what helps us carry our people through year to year. I don't see it ever stopping”
Tim Nuvangyaoma (tim new-vahn-yah-mah), chair Hopi tribe
“What do I need to do to be a good ancestor for those next generations to come?”
Cynthia Naha (sin-thee-yah nah-hah), climate activist
“There's this term in Hopi where your hearts become one and when this happens in a ceremony, that's when us people have that strength…that's when the spirits know and they bring us the rain.”
Beatrice Norton (bee-ah-triss nor-tun), chair Hopi Foundation Board of Directors
“We today live under one life philosophy which is principled upon compassion, reciprocity, stewardship and really about humility.”
Leigh Kuwanwisima (lee koo-wahn-we-see-mah), culture preservationist
“In a matrilineal society on Hopi, we are expected to fulfill certain roles in the village to ensure the land is cared for.”
Maree Mahkewa (mah-ree mah-kew-ah), youth ambassador for land conservation
“The land actually owns us when you think about it. We don’t own land. We don’t own water. It owns us. Because without it, we can’t survive.”
Howard Dennis (how-ward den-niss), silversmith, flute chief of Mishognonvi
“We must teach our children their mother tongue & our philosophies which go back beyond the memory of man. We must keep the embers burning so we may gather around (our ancestral fires) again.”
John Amagoalik (jahn ah-mah-gwah-leek), negotiator, policy advisor
“Sovereignty begins at home. When you have permanent people living in communities which have been their homes for thousands of years, there will never be any question of them belonging there.”
Mary Simon (may-ree seye-mun), chair National Committee on Inuit Education
“Respect for our Elders stems from the understanding that their lived experience and survival is something that we have to admire and replicate if we are to keep our culture strong.”
Robert Comeau (rah-bert koo-moo), law student, Inuit advocate, qajaq-er