The speakers for this month
are Bob Hepokoski and his wife Giselle, who will be taking the audience to
South America and to share their experience of working with the Mapuche natives
in present day Chile. The second Cultural Thursday event of the 2014-15
season will be held on October 2. The hour-long presentation will be held at the
Brainerd Campus in room E471 beginning at noon.
The Hepokoskis lived for 15
years in the country of Chile in South America, most of that time doing mission
work among the Mapuche people. They will be speaking on the theme of
traditional cultures in transition. During the time they lived with the
Mapuches, they witnessed the people undergoing a period of intense cultural
change.
"We watched the
Mapuche people going through significant cultural change between 1993 to 2006.
Electricity arrived to their communities, cell phones, TV, rural bus routes
connecting them easily to the city and new employment opportunities." states
Bob Hepokoski. "And the new generation obtained literacy (in Spanish).
Like all cultures, theirs faced changes, but because of they lived so long in
relative isolation, the changes seemed to arrive very quickly. From one
generation to another, their long-standing way of life was dramatically
altered."
This is a free event open
to the public.
For more information on
Cultural Thursday Events contact Tracey Kloeckl-Jiménez 218-855-8183 or
tkloeckl@clcmn.edu.
