Kaypimi Kanchik | We Are Here: Honoring Indigenous Migration Stories and Celebrating the Kichwa Community in Wisconsin

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courtesy Madison Public Library

Members of the Kichwa Collaborative Learning Library Takeover team.

Members of the Kichwa Collaborative Learning Library Takeover team.

media release: No registration required. Learn more: madpl.org/kichwa

This event is designed to elevate the lived experiences of the migrant Kichwa communities in Wisconsin from a first-person perspective. It is an offering to all the past and current Kichwa families who continue to nurture the knowledge, resilience, and joy left by our ancestors and bridge it to the next generation.

Kichwa refers to the indigenous communities in different regions of Ecuador and the language that is spoken in those regions. Indigenous groups make up an increasing percentage of immigrants in the United States, yet continue to be underrepresented and invisibilized in the mainstream conversation of migration. This is often due to forced displacement separating them from their territories, traditions, and communities. “Kaipimi Kanchik”, “We Are Here” hopes to center these indigenous migration stories through different forms of cultural expression showcasing Kichwa artisans, dancers, speakers, and musicians.

The event will consist of the following:

• Kichwa Market, showcasing indigenous vendors and handmade crafts
• Luis Gonzalez-Quizhpe, BA, MA(c), Kichwa-Saraguro presenting on and providing context to the contemporary presence and history of the Kichwa communities in Wisconsin
• Panel of Speakers, sharing their experiences and perspectives as Kichwa community members residing in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Mashikuna, a Kichwa-Otavalo music group founded in Madison in the early 2000s that focuses on traditional rhythms from Northern Ecuador
• Los Inkas, a Kichwa-Saraguro music group created in the 1980s to promote and extend the knowledge and appreciation of traditional music from southern Ecuador
• Saraguro Youth Dance Group, who will interpret traditional dances from their Kichwa-Saraguro community.

No registration is required - all are welcome to attend! 

This event is funded by the Madison Public Library Foundation as part of the Library Takeover program.

Meet the Library Takeover Team

This team is passionate about migration and identity, as well as sharing historical insight into the indigenous Kichwa Diaspora from South America to Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, the history of migration of the Kichwa community dates back to as early as the 1980s. Through the interactive activities, storytelling, and music included in the event, this group invites community members to invoke critical thinking and question western notions of migration as a tool of resistance. They hope to provide a collaborative learning experience for all who attend.