Android : Get An Integer Array From Axml Resource In Droid Program?

I have an xml resource in res/values/integers.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
<integer-array name="UserBases">
<item>2</item>
<item>8</item>
<item>10</item>
<item>16</item>
</integer-array>
</resources>

and ive tried several things to access it:

int[] bases = R.array.UserBases;

this just returns and int reference to UserBases not the array itself

int[] bases = Resources.getSystem().getIntArray(R.array.UserBases);

and this throws an exception back at me telling me the int reference R.array.UserBases points to nothing

what is the best way to access this array, push it into a nice base-type int[] and then possibly push any modifications back into the xml resource.

I've checked the android documentation but I haven't found anything terribly fruitful.