Telpochcalli Movement Academy

Background

The term Telpochcalli is inspired by a Uto-Aztecan word that translates to “House of Youth.” The teachings of the Telpochalli are based on sacred wisdom and Indigenous knowledge that go back to the Toltecayotl and the Anahuac pyramid of knowledge. Telpochcalli was an educational practice of higher learning focused on the instruction of civic duty, history, Palabra [character development], and the alignment of the cara y corazon.

Purpose

The Telpochcalli Movement Academy (TMA) was created by MILPA to pass on cultural knowledge, wisdom, and traditions as a praxis for building the intergenerational leadership and well-being of youth and young adults. The program centers the experiences of formerly incarcerated and system-impacted Chicano-Indigenous people. We utilize a spectrum of practices that move young people towards healing and transforming interpersonal trauma. At Telpochcalli, Young people will experience interpersonal and collective shifts that challenge, replace, and repair conditions created by structural racism, cultural genocide, and colonialism.