Indigenous Memories as Resistance against Epistemicide: Reflections from Experiences with <i>Memoria Indígena</i> in Abya Yala (the Americas)

Indigenous communities throughout Abya Yala, the ancestral name for the lands later renamed ‘the Americas’, have long waged a sustained resistance against systemic cultural and physical erasure. This article contends that the collective memories of these peoples are more than static archives of their histories. Instead, they function as a dynamic, living lifeline, anchoring their traditions, preserving their identities and ensuring cultural continuity in the face of persistent colonial pressures. These memories are profoundly rooted in an interconnected relationship: their deep connection to the land, their communal identity as a people and their sacred bond with the divine. This intricate web of memory serves as a powerful instrument against epistemicide, the deliberate destruction of indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing. Drawing upon my unique position as an insider and scholar from the Gunadule community, this article provides a reflective and personal account of indigenous memory's collective meaning, informed by my leadership and work at the organisation Memoria Indigena. The analysis centres on the concept of cosmic memory, or cosmovivencia. This framework transcends a purely human-centric understanding of memory, positing a sacred, interconnected cycle of life and existence that unites all beings and the Creator. From a theological perspective, cosmovivencia reveals that amid displacement and forced forgetting, we are all part of a divinely created fabric in which every creature and every history contributes to the intricate web of creation. This worldview reframes epistemicide as not merely a social injustice but as a profound act of sacrilege against God, whose memory is inextricably linked to our shared cosmic memory. Accordingly, to appeal to cosmic memory is an act of resistance, demonstrating one's faith in the divine life force that sustains and unites all creation.