Cañar Peace Corps Collection
Colección del Cuerpo de Paz en Cañar
Object Details
| Collection Language | Kichwa, Cañar Highland |
| Language PID | ailla:119726 |
| Title [Indigenous] | |
| Language of Indigenous Title | |
| Title | Cañar Peace Corps Collection |
| Country(ies) | Ecuador |
| Collector(s) | Wilson, Preston Mowry, George Impastato, Michael Klein, Susan Catchpole, Thomas Wetsman, Henry Adams, Alan Ashe, Jeffrey |
| Depositor(s) | Blankenship, Judy |
| Project/Collector Website | |
| Description [Indigenous] | |
| Language of Indigenous Description | |
| Description | This collection contains over 400 photographs and a few documents produced by US Peace Corps Volunteers in Cañar Ecuador in the 1960s and 1970s. See Canar_Peace_Corps-Finding_Aid-eng.pdf for a list of all files in this collection with English descriptions. See Canar_Peace_Corps-Finding_Aid-spa.pdf for a list of all files in this collection with Spanish descriptions. A bit about the Peace Corps in Cañar by Alan Adams: In the period of Ecuadorian agrarian reform from 1965 to 1970, a naive group of Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Cañar tasked with supporting the peasant population's formation of agricultural cooperatives. Young and idealistic, we walked among the indigenous Cañari and were astonished. We conversed with them, listened to them, and desperately tried to help. And if we successfully provided a word of encouragement, fantastic, however, what we learned was invaluable. As opportunities and occasions presented themselves, some of us had the idea to document our experiences through photography. Unfortunately, my photos were lost. Some of us thought to keep theirs and now these photos are available as part of a historic visual archive of agrarian reform, a decisive period in the history of the Cañari people. It was not a reform that happened to the Cañari, but rather a movement that the people themselves took over, shaped, and created to turn the course of their history. We photographed what amazed us- - the people, strong in their determination to conquer their centuries-long adversity. We photographed the innate happiness, the profound sadness, the deep-rooted humor and the consuming desperation. There were no professionals among us, we were just young people who wanted to share with friends and family, who wanted to assure clear memories of the spirit of the people we walked hard paths with; who stayed astonished at the strength of a culture we never could have imagined. Parts of the vast Cañari territory that molded those who had lived in it for so many millennia were also photographed. The spirit of the land has infused the spirit of the Cañari people. The union between them and the land, the stones and the steep slopes of the mountains also astonished us. It is our hope that these photos help communicate the admiration and reverence that we felt as we watched the agrarian reform unfold. The preservation of this collection was supported by the grant PD-260978 Archiving Significant Collections of Endangered Languages: Two Multilingual Regions of Northwest South America from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
| References |
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- Alan Adams - Andean Rhapsody
- 1969 report on the implementation of agrarian reform in Cañar, Ecuador, telling how agrarian reform affected the Cañari people and their transition from serfdom to self-determination. Includes a 2013 prologue by the author., Informe de 1969 acerca de la implementación de la reforma agraria en Cañar, Ecuador que relata como la reforma agraria afectó el pueblo Cañari su transición de siervo feudal a la autodeterminación. Incluye un prólogo de 2013 por el autor., Cañar, Ecuador
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- George Mowry Photographs
- 31 color photographs taken by George Mowry during his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cañar, Ecuador, 1968-1969. Identified locations include the towns of Cañar, Azogues, San Antonio, Ingapirca and Cuchucun. See Mowry_Meta.pdf for a list of photographs and descriptions (in Spanish) created by George Mowry in 2013., 31 fotografías de color tomados por George Mowry durante su estadía en Cañar, Ecuador como Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz, 1968-1969. Las localidades identificadas incluyen los pueblos de Cañar, Azogues, San Antonio, Ingapirca y Cuchucun. Véase Mowry_Meta.pdf para una lista de fotografías con descripciones (en castellano) preparada por George Mowry en 2013., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Henry Wetsman Photographs
- 7 color photographs of a barley harvest in Hacienda San Rafael taken by Peace Corps Volunteer Henry Wetsman circa 1970., 7 fotografías en color de una cosecha de cebada en Hacienda San Rafael tomadas por Henry Wetsman, Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz alrededor de 1970., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Jeffrey Ashe Documents
- Miscellaneous documents produced by Jeffrey Ashe during his work as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador., Documentos misceláneos producidos por Jeffrey Ashe durante su estadía en Ecuador como un Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Michael Impastato - Agrarian Reform: Social Progress in Hacienda Guantug
- From the introduction to the paper: The pages that follow constitute an evaluation undertaken during the last week of November and the first weeks of December (1967-68) in the rural zones of Hacienda Guantug and nearby areas. The observations formulated in this report are the fruit of numerous personal interviews with the attendees of courses given in Cañar and Santo Domingo and Peace Corps Volunteers Alan Adams, Gary Hagermann, and the anthropologist Alan Koloseike. The author traveled the hacienda on foot, directly interviewing the residents of different sectors of Guantug. He accompanied them in their rounds, helping to gather data related to the process of agrarian reform. The evaluation consists of five different parts: an introduction that lays out the intentions of this report and the inherent difficulties related to an evaluation of this nature; the second part narrates a short history of the Hacienda Guantug; the third part talks about the actuality and reality of Hacienda Guantug, mentioning many elements and factors that have had an important influence; the fourth part refers directly to the actions of the course attendees -- up to the first days of December, 1967; the fifth part talks of the positive and negative aspects of the courses and offers suggestions related to the continuity of the development work in the Hacienda Guantug community., De la introducción del papel: Las páginas que siguen constituyen una evaluación realizada durante la última semana de noviembre y las primeras semanas de diciembre [1967-68] en las zonas rurales de la hacienda Guantug y otras zonas cercanas. Las observaciones formuladas en este informe son fruto de numerosas entrevistas personales con los asistentes de los dos cursos realizados (Cañar y Santo Domingo) y Voluntarios del Cuerpo de Paz, Alan Adams, Gary Hagermann, y el antropólogo, Alan Koloseike. Este recorrió la hacienda a pie, entrevistándose directamente con los moradores de las parcialidades de Guantug. El que escribe este informe le acompañó en el recorrido, ayudándole a recoger datos relativos al proceso de reforma agraria. La evaluación comprende cinco partes diferentes: la primera parte es una introducción que trata de la intención del informe y las dificultades inherentes relacionadas con una evaluación de esta naturaliza; la segunda parte narra una historia corta de la hacienda Guantug; la tercera parte habla de la actualidad y la realidad de la hacienda Guantug, mencionando las intervenciones de muchos elementos y factores de peso los cuales ejercieron una influencia en ella; la cuarta parte se refiere directamente a las actuaciones de los asistentes a los cursos – hasta los primeros días de diciembre [1967]; la quinta parte trata los aspectos positivos y negativos de los cursos y expone sugerencias relativas a la continuidad de los trabajos de desarrollo de la comunidad en la hacienda Guantug., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Michael Impastato Photographs
- 33 black and white and color photographs taken by Michael Impastato, Peace Corps Volunteer in Cañar, Ecuador, circa 1967. The photographs mostly depict participants and activities associated with courses taught at the Hacienda San Antonio. The original photos were brought to Cañar by Jeffrey Ashe in 2017, scanned by Judy Blankenship, and returned to Michael Impastato., 33fotografías en blanco y negro y en color tomadas por Michael Impastato, Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz en Cañar, Ecuador, alrededor del 1967. La mayoría de las fotos son de participantes y actividades asociados con cursos impartados en la Hacienda San Antonio. Jeffrey Ashe trajo las originales a Cañar en 2017. Allí Judy Blankenship las digitalizó y se las devolvió a Michael Impastato., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Preston Wilson Photographs
- 142 black and white and color photographs taken by Preston Wilson during his time as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Cañar, Ecuador, 1967-70. The original photos and slides were scanned by Wilson in 2013. See Key_to_scans.pdf for a list (in Spanish) of photographs and descriptions written by Wilson., 142 fotografías de blanco y negro y de color tomadas por Preston Wilson durante su estadía en Cañar, Ecuador como voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz de EEUU de 1967 al 1970. Las fotos y diapositivas originales fueron digitalizadas por Wilson en 2013. Véase Key_to_scans.pdf para una lista (en castellano) de fotografías y descripciones escritas por Wilson., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Susan Klein Photographs
- 46 color photographs taken by Peace Corps Volunteer Susan Klein in Cañar and Cuenca circa 1970., 46 fotografías de color tomadas por Susan Klein, una voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz en Cañar y Cuenca alrededor del 1970., Cañar, Ecuador
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- Thomas Catchpole Photographs
- 162 black and white and color photographs taken by Thomas Catchpole, Peace Corps Volunteer Forester in Cuenca, Ecuador from 1970 to 1974, and Chief of Forestation of CREA from 1975 to 1976. See Legend_for_Tom_Catchpole_photographs.pdf for photograph descriptions (in English) provided by Thomas Catchpole., 162 fotografías de blanco y negro y de color tomadas por Thomas Catchpole, Voluntario Forestero del Cuerpo de Paz en Cuenca, Ecuador de 1970 a 1974 y Jefe de Forestación de CREA de 1975 a 1976. Véase Legend_for_Tom_Catchpole_photographs.pdf para descripciones (en inglés) de fotos escritas por Thomas Catchpole., Cuenca, Ecuador
