Name: Community Lunch & Learn: Exploring Indigenous Cultures of The Americas
Start: 2025-03-05T11:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-03-05T14:00:00-06:00
Location: Global Education Center

Community Lunch & Learn: Exploring Indigenous Cultures of The Americas

Explore Taíno, Inca, & Garífuna cultures through history, music & dance! Enjoy a FREE lunch by The Pepper Pott while immersing in rich In
About this Event

📅 Wednesday, March 5, 2025
🕚 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM CST
📍 Global Education Center, 4822 Charlotte Ave, Nashville, TN
🍛 Lunch Catered by The Pepper Pott
💰 FREE Event! Donations for lunch accepted

Join us for a journey through the living cultures of The Americas! This interactive Community Lunch & Learn highlights the rich heritage of:

✨ The Taíno of the Caribbean
✨ The Indigenous Inca descendants of Peru
✨ The Garífuna culture of Honduras & beyond

🌟 What You'll Experience:

🌿 Taíno Heritage & Spirituality – Dominique Karaya

✅ Taíno History & Culture: Learn about the first Indigenous people to encounter Columbus, their sophisticated societies, and the traditions that endure today.
✅ Sacred Sites & Rituals: Explore the sacred caves of Hispaniola, where shamans entered trances through cohoba ceremonies, inhaling sacred plant medicine to receive visions from the spirit world.
✅ Modern-Day Taíno: Despite the devastation of colonization, Taíno identity and culture live on in language, art, and Indigenous movements today.

🏔️ Inca Culture & Legacy – Jeimy & Charlie Gilbert

✅ The Largest Pre-Columbian Empire: Discover the Inca civilization, which stretched from modern-day Colombia to Argentina, covering 770,000 square miles and home to 6-14 million people.
✅ Inca Golden Rule: Learn how the core Inca principle “Do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy” (Ama sua, Ama lulla, Ama chella) shaped society and is still upheld in many Indigenous communities today.
✅ Sacred Realms of the Inca: Explore the three worlds of Inca cosmology:

Hanan Pacha (Upper World) – The realm of the Sun God Inti and the Moon Goddess Mama Quilla.
Kay Pacha (Middle World) – The human world, connected by the Inca’s famous road network.
Uku Pacha (Underworld) – A place of eternal darkness ruled by Supay, the god of death.
✅ The Inca Road System & Sacred Sites: Discover how the Inca’s extensive roads and temples connected their empire and aligned with spiritual landmarks such as mountaintops, lakes, and stars.
✅ Traditional Andean Music & Instruments: Experience the sounds of Indigenous Peruvian music, featuring the quena (flute) and sikus (panpipes)—used in religious ceremonies and daily life.
✅ Interactive Huayno Dance Experience: Try Huayno, a traditional Inca-rooted dance filled with joyful movement and cultural expression.

🥁 Garífuna Drumming & Punta Dance

✅ A Cultural Blend: The Garífuna people, descended from West Africans, Arawak, and Carib Indigenous peoples, have a powerful legacy of resilience and cultural fusion.
✅ Percussion & Movement: Try your hand at Garífuna drumming and learn Punta, the energetic, fast-paced dance that has become a cultural treasure in Honduras, Belize, and beyond.