A LONG DAY OF TRAVEL TO AN ANCIENT CAPITAL

Sept. 14th: Our bus left Ibague at 4:30AM for the long drive back to Bogota.  We got to the outskirts of the capital at 7:30 but didn’t get to the airport until 9.  Bogota is a sprawling city of 7 million and rush hour begins very early.  From there we flew to Cali where we were picked up by members of CRIC, the Regional Indigenous Council of the Department of Cauca.  We didn’t get to Popayan in the south until 5pm.  Along the way we stopped by the meeting place for the National Assembly of Indigenous, an open-air but covered space where up to 20,000 Indigenous meet from across the country periodically. 

The place  is historic and has attracted people such as Rigoberta Menchu, a member of the UN executive council and the vice-president of Italy to its meetings.  Because the meeting was impromptu we were only able to meet with a few of the Cabildo of the region, but they were able to give us some of the history and significance of this place.  At times, the assembly has carried out road blocks on the highway nearby to draw attention to their demands.

Popayan was the colonial capital of Colombia but lost that title to Bogota after the country became a republic.  It is a beautiful city; the buildings in the colonial section are painted white and it could draw many tourists if the armed conflict was solved. 

We arrived at the CRIC offices at 5 where we met some of their members and staff and were given a presentation about the organization.   CRIC is the original Indigenous Council in Colombia, formed on February 24, 1971 after 5 cabildos in Cauca began to organize.  Although the fight for UNITY, LAND, AUTONOMY and CULTURE, dates from Colonial times, it was after 1971 that they began to mobilize to  fight for public policies, united under their green (territory) and red (fight) flag.  ONIC, the National Indigenous Council, was founded in 1981.  CRIC has a 10 point platform which includes recovery of territory, preserving culture and protecting natural resources.  Four of the main rivers of Colombia have their sources in Cauca.  At present, there are many threats to  Indigenous territories.  The following are some mentioned:  1) mining licenses for exploration are being given to national and international companies without consultation with the communities 2) conflict zones with the army, guerrillas, paramilitaries and narco-traffickers displacing the indigenous 3) biopiracy where multinationals research the flora and then claim ownership of the information without asking permission. 

The Indigenous regard their territory as sacred and are fearful that the Colombian government is eager to give it to Multinationals to manage for economic reasons.

A DIFFICULT DAY ON A RESGUARDO

The next day, after our day of meetings with CRIT in Ibague, we left very early for a 3 hour drive south to visit a small indigenous community at Resguardo de Lu (Natagaima) who CRIT has been working with.  The day became increasingly hotter so that by the time we arrived the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius and continued to rise throughout the afternoon.

When Colombia became a republic in the early 1800’s, Simon Bolivar declared that 30% of the land would be Indigenous Communal lands. 

By 1970, about 70% of this had been lost, abandoned because of the armed conflict, taken over by landowners or for other reasons.  The government at the time declared that some of this land should be returned and despite the fact that the political will has varied throughout the past 40 years, with great struggle, some groups have been able to reclaim the land, eventually receive title for it and have it declared legally as a Resguardo, or protected Indigenous communal lands. The lands are then communal, can be allotted to families in the community but cannot be sold.  The community we visited had successfully gone through this process.

With great hospitality under a thatched roof, we were treated to cultural dances and music, snacks and a meal of stuffed goat, a ritual by a traditional healer and several presentations by members of this community and other surrounding communities.  The stories were painful and heroic.  The following is just one:

Rubiella was the mother of six who was living with her parents.  She wanted to give them more, especially land.  CRIT worked with her and other women from 60 families to be recognized as a community in 1997.   Then, they elected a Cabildo, or a governing authority of several leaders.  At this point, they did not have land, but CRIT trained them to take back ancestral lands and helped them to get legal title to the land.  The women occupied this land which was being sought by 3 other groups and then worked it.  Most husbands were afraid to do so because of the threat of disappearance and murder.  In fact paramilitaries did infiltrate the community, raping, murdering 7 and disappearing 2. The memory of taking the land by force is very difficult for her.

In 2010, it was declared a Resguardo by the government, meaning that they now should have legal title. We are not sure if they do hold the title.  Rubiella was elected governor of the Resguardo last year.  She now has a high school diploma and is respected by her husband.  The community now has 69 families, 89 hectares of land and survives on agriculture, cattle and handicrafts.  Because of 3 months of drought, their animals are dying, the water they catch in artificial lakes is drying up and their crops have failed.  But they focus on the children because the future is in their hands.