Lesson 5: The Importance of Including Indigenous Voices and Perspectives on the Conquest and Colonization of Latin America

This lesson is meant to give voice and agency to Indigenous authors who write about the events that occurred during the interactions between Incas and Europeans. Students will have the opportunity to use their critical thinking skills to learn about the perspective of the “colonized” during Latin American colonialism. This lesson examines the work of Guaman Poma, Indigenous author and illustrator—who chronicled the period of the Spanish conquest in both pictography and in alphabetic texts. His voluminous works describe Incan culture and civilization and the role it played before, during, and after the conquest in 1535. In this lesson, students transition from analyzing counter narratives written by Europeans to analyzing those of Indigenous authors. Students will also come to understand the importance of including Indigenous voices and perspectives of the conquest and colonization to fully understand these events in Native History.