The Kuna people of Panama are the largest native group in the South American tropics. Their home is the San Blas Islands, an archipelago of about 400 islands that stretch east from the Panama Canal along the Caribbean coast to the Columbian border. An island people, Kunas regard their canoes the way Americans look at cars or bicycles. Children who can barely walk swim like otters, and it's not rare to see small boats in the open ocean with a five or six year old child at the helm!

Because their homeland is located near the old "Gold Route" of the Spanish Conquistadors, the Kunas were contacted by Europeans soon after the "discovery" of the New World. The Spanish found the Kuna people to have a equalitarian society, proud and independent. With the protection of what the Spanish regarded as a pestilent and impenetrable jungle, the Kunas managed to avoid colonization and exploitation. A free trade system evolved whereby the Kunas borrowed from other cultures that which they found useful while maintaining their own language, culture, and customs.

One item the Kunas borrowed from Europeans was cotton fabric. As far as we can tell, the Kunas had no history of weaving but adopted the use of fabric to produce the article which has now become the defining element of their culture: the mola. A mola is a fabric panel, worked in several layers of appliqué, that serves as the bodice in the traditional woman's blouse. The style of appliqué, often referred to as "reverse" because the top layer is cut away to reveal colors underneath, was developed by the Kunas as an expression of their cultural aesthetic. Today, molas are a vivid and varied art form and a major source of income for the Kuna people.

Like indigenous peoples throughout the world, the Kunas walk a thin line between preserving their culture, language, and traditions and assimilating into the 21st century world. But unlike many, the Kunas have been able to retain their independence throughout their history. Though small in stature, the Kuna people have strength of will and intelligence which have produced a resilient culture where education, reason, and creativity are respected and nurtured.