Urpi’s Page Intro
Urpi urpi urpi urpi – Vanessa
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iCrews Mariposa Fire Reflection (2025)
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Mariposa is a Spanish word that means butterfly. In Latin America, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a symbol of migration and travel. The Danaus plexippus species travels around 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada. They travel through forests that they have never been in, but that their great-grandparents inhabited. Their need to travel to those forests is within themselves, instinctually. Similarly to the monarch butterflies, I have migrated from the city of Cusco, to Seattle Washington. I am a 1.5 Generation immigrant, meaning that I have experienced what it feels like to live in two different countries: Peru and the United States. Even though I have lived for far more years in the United States, I’ve felt like a foreigner, throughout my academic journey from 5th grade to University, I’ve felt like I was missing out on community.
During my trip to Mariposa, California, I had no idea what to expect. This was my first time attending a cultural fire event. I felt so compelled to go that I missed an important meeting at work, as I couldn’t travel by airplane, and decided to take a 24-hour trip from Seattle to San Francisco via Amtrak. The reason I felt it was an important event I couldn’t miss was that my heart and mind thought it would be a great opportunity to learn and connect with other Indigenous people.
On our first day at the cultural fire event, we were welcomed by Ron Goode, who talked about the importance of removing elderberry, how they had their own traditional ceremonies, how the burning of the removed elderberry was necessary, as the ash that is produced would provide the
right amount of nutrients and ph levels necessary for the new elderberry shoots to grow. I also noticed that community members, university students, and other people from different parts of California and the United States were present!
I learned that elderberry is a very important plant to the Indigenous community in Mariposa, and how their relationship was rooted in respect and reciprocity: The indigenous community would tend to the elderberry, and the elderberry would provide the necessary materials for the women to weave baskets that would last them for generations to come. Not only is the material that elderberries produce long-lasting, but it is also environmentally friendly.
I had the amazing opportunity to learn from community members, and I was able to talk to many of them. One of the many people I met was an elder who taught me how to distinguish between Elderberry and Poison oak. As I got to talk to her and know her more, I learned that she and her grandson were not allergic to poison oak. Their bodies had developed immunity to a plant that can cause rashes and blisters to the majority of the population! It made me think how the elderberry’s ancestors and hers have been friends for such a very long time, that they had developed a symbiotic relationship, established in mutual respect and care.
The cultural fire event reminded me of my childhood, when my family and I would travel to a small town near Cusco called Urcos, in Peru. There were many hills and natural landscapes, similar to the environment in Mariposa. It reminds me of myself as a child and how I would carelessly play with my cousins, running through the hills playing tag. It reminded me of our yearly Andean tradition El Dia de la Pachamama (Mother Earth’s Day) which happens every August. Our family would come together and we would offer our favorite foods, drinks, such as Chicha, gifts and our medicinal plant, the Coca leaves to La Pacha Mama. We would dig a hole in the ground and place the gifts there, and burn the offerings until the ashes were white. This is an Andean tradition rooted in reciprocity between the material world and the spiritual world.
It was nostalgic yet beautiful, as I felt that I was living in a small village full of people I could trust, and I felt cared for. Everyone was doing their own thing, yet they were also in each other’s vicinity, sharing the same space and time. Through this experience, I have learned that the meaning of community is sharing and giving back. The different kinds of sharing can be moments, medicine, memories, food, gifts, arts, etc, and it makes me think about community and reciprocity. It is an important lesson that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, as it taught me that through community we can establish deep connection and love not only for other human beings, but also for other kinds of organisms and the environment.
I was fascinated to learn about the scientific, cultural, and artistic knowledge that the Indigenous community had in Mariposa. This experience has taught me that Indigenous knowledge is important as it is not only scientific, but also rooted in ancestral ceremonies, and communal care and respect. This is why Indigenous sovereignty is very important and needed in this world, now more than ever.
Añay
Urpi R.A.
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