Byron Tenesaca Guaman (Kañari Kichwa), Cultural Survival’s Indigenous Youth Fellowship Coordinator, still remembers the house where he was born. It was right by the Yanuncay River in the Kañari territory of Guapondeleg, also known today as Cuenca, in southern Ecuador. Byron’s mom immigrated to the United States when he was a baby, making the difficult choice to leave Byron in the care of his grandmother. Byron lived with his grandmother until the age of 11, at which point he was brought to the U.S. to be reunited with his mother in North Carolina. “Being raised by my first educator in my life—my grandmother—shaped my identity and creativity,” he says.
The trauma of immigration took a toll on Byron in his teenage years. “I went to college at the age of 17 and I decided to change my focus to the one thing that made me happy at that time, which was drawing and creating,” he recalls. Drawing, painting, and creating in the Cherokee mountains was a way of healing for Byron. This artistic foundation would eventually lead him to weaving, back to his Elders, back to his memory, and ultimately back to his identity.
In 2018, Byron made a personal commitment to pursue a profession where he could fully be his authentic self. He carved out a career as an educator in the North Carolina public school system, teaching kindergarten, high school Spanish, college English, and elementary art. He was also involved with regional art centers, assisting with programming for exhibitions or facilitating children’s workshops in various mediums like clay, painting, and photography. After several years, Byron made the decision to come back home to his ancestors’ mountains in Ecuador.
Byron Tenesaca Guaman (third from left) with Cultural Survival Youth Fellows and staff at the 2024 UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Byron aspires to continue his dream and the minka (communal work) of his ancestors towards sumak kawsay (living in harmony). “I am inspired by all of the strong, resilient women in my family,” he says. “My grandmother, who took me under her wings at the age of one and taught me to live with the land. My aunties, who took care of me when my grandmother had to go sell her baskets in the city. My great-grandmother, who, without knowing how to read or write Spanish, organized her community of basket weavers to be able to have a place to sell in the city. My biological mother, who gave away part of her motherhood in order to provide and plan for a better future for us. My daughter, who brought me back to my community. And finally, all of the women in my community, who, through marches, protests, and hard work, have made our small community thrive and grow economically while opposing mining and dam projects being built in our paramos.”
Back in his mountain community for almost a year now, Byron says it is a blessing to be able to live with his neighbors, animals, plants, and rivers. He strives to continue supporting his family and ancestral community and to provide a safe cultural space for children to keep their ancestors’ memory alive through the arts and plants. He also wants to become fluent in Kichwa, the language of his ancestors, and to become more proficient in basket weaving and teach it to his daughter. His long-term dream is to build a museum or cultural center in his community to propel the history of his people forward, to hold the memory of those who came before him, and to water the roots of the next generation through the arts and crafts.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank my Elders, as I would not be in this position if it wasn’t for their will and dream for a better tomorrow, their resilience given the atrocities of colonialism, and their adaptability to the oppressive systems over the years. They were forced to sacrifice so much of their identity to allow me to also have dreams of my own some day. Yupaychani (thank you).”
