(Re)centering Indigenous Perspectives in Music Education in Latin America

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge has been marginalized and excluded through a system based on a worldview that perpetuates colonialism. The actions and attitudes of nation-states and academic bodies deem, recognize, and value certain ways of knowing as "superior," which marginalizes knowledge from Indigenous cultures. Considering an educational philosophy that puts the knowledge and worldviews of local cultures at its heart is an urgent step towards changing this situation. In this text, I discuss the implementation of Styres's (2017) Land-centred philosophical proposal in music education. This approach is built on the understanding that Indigenous knowledge has the same value as knowledge that comes from hegemonic Western centres. This perspective proposes to disrupt the role of Eurocentrism that accepts or rejects different ways of knowing and (re)centers Indigenous knowledge and worldviews.

Pedagogical practices, curriculum development, and student experiences within postsecondary music education: A systematic literature review

“…Several studies analyzing curricular content and revision found that music curricular revision recentered teaching and content around student affordances and community music traditions. Moreover, the choice of music pieces, such as indigenous rather than non-indigenous selections, carries high potential to mobilize efforts toward cultural relevance, student responsiveness, community integration, and general decoloniality (Vázquez Córdoba, 2019).…”

Chikomexochitl: an Indigenous research methodology rooted in the Masewal people’s worldview

“…Instead, Indigenous communities, as is the case of Masewal people, are complex and often hold conflicts and contradictions. To create idyllic representations of what Indigenous peoples must be and to simplify the struggles that they face in their everyday lives is yet another form of racism and discrimination (Vazquez-Cordoba, in press). As researchers, let us walk side by side with our community partners and let us do our best to open the necessary space for their stories and realities to be shared through their own lenses.…”

Grown From the Same Ground: Music Education, Identity, and Indigenous Sovereignty

“…Vázquez Córdoba (2019) notes that the tangled web of Indigenous musical practices and society favor "the reproduction of culture through maintaining dialogue about its meaningful anchors like ways of doing, saying, and feeling" (209). The life flowing through Indigenous musical practices and culture is dynamic and participatory in contemporary contexts, evolving alongside its peoples and circumstances (Vázquez Córdoba 2019, 209, 215).…”