Ah-Mut Pipa Foundation
Quechan traditional culture
About the Organization
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The Ah-Mut Pipa Foundation in the city of Bard in Imperial County was founded in 1996. The mission of the Ah-Mut Pipa Foundation is to educate the Quechan community, the Tribes of California, and the general public, in order to increase understanding of Native American ethnohistory, culture, and art. In 2018 the Foundation got a license to run a low-power radio station, KUAV radio, from the Ft. Yuma Indian Reservation. They have been on the air since January 2018. They air tribal music, some local news, and a few events when possible.
Living Cultures Grant
2020
Kuruk: Quechan Mourning Ceremony
In 2020 the Ah-Mut Pipa Foundation received a Living Cultures Grant from ACTA to research and teach the cultural history surrounding Kuruk mourning practices. The Quechan people practice a cremation ritual that derives from their creation story. When Kumat, the Creator, died, he was cremated. Their tribal songs describe the ritual conducted at that death. The Foundation is applying the grant to teach young men and women of the Quechan Nation about the ancient Kuruk Mourning Ceremony and how it relates to today’s cremation ceremony so that this cremation practice will not die as it is part of the traditional culture of the Hokan-speaking people of the Southwest and northern Baja, Mexico.
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