Sumaq Kawsay and Indigenous Educational Dignity in the Peruvian Highlands

Drawing from collaborative ethnographic research rooted in Indigenous research methodologies, this chapter focuses on the nature of a small Indigenous school in the region of Cusco, Peru, and the ways in which schooling is constructed as a reflection of Quechua epistemology exemplified through the Andean agricultural calendar. The focus is on the educational philosophies of school founders and creative Quechua pedagogy expressive of “nature-mediated education” established through recognition of the centrality of Indigenous relationships to the environment. The development and evolution of this school are traced amidst tensions with Peruvian educational policy, the state, and international academic performance pressures rooted in (Western) modernization. The educational leaders at the school are asked how Quechua communities situated outside of the European hegemonic world order envision education and life achievements for their children and how Indigenous epistemologies can contribute to student well-being and ecologically sustainable educational practices in the Andes.