Tairona Heritage Trust

The political milieu in which the Trust works

Graphics links

The Trust is a small cog in a large wheel and the Colombian situation in which it works is a fluid and ambiguous one.

Colombia's history since its independence in 1819

Colombia abolished its State structure in 1886 and consists of a number of departments. It has been a democracy since 1958 with liberal and conservative parties in power. Colombia emerged into the 20th century peculiar in some key aspects from the rest of South America. For historical and constitutional reasons, the Roman Catholic Church has always been strong here (Peru is the only other Latin American country where the Roman Catholic Church is the official Church of the country), and its legal status is especially well favoured. Protestantism arrived in 1856 but was resisted, even violently, until the 1950's.

Colombia's indigenous policies

Colombia contains indigenes from more than 60 different nations. The Indian and Negro elements in the population is smaller than in most other Latin American countries, yet 60% of the country is designated as 'mission territories', in which the Roman Catholic Church wields broad civil powers.

What had been called the 'Indian Problem' in North America was called the 'mancha india' (the Indian Stain) in South America, and both continents sought to resolve it by assimilation. Earlier attempts were redefined by 1940 'when something calling itself the First Inter-American Indigenist Congress was held in Pátzcuaro, Mexico, to discuss the co-ordination of integrationist policies, indigenous culture seemed to have gone from being denigrated to being usurped. It said more about the mestizo, criollo or misti search for an identity than it did about indigenous consciousness.' (Wearne 1996: 134).

But whilst the other Latin American countries prevaricated, Colombia had always been in the forefront of enlightened attitudes towards indigenes. An 1890 law 'provided for the establishment of Indian communal reserves (resguardos). However, this did not apply to uncivilized, non-Christian groups, who were given no such rights and instead were placed under the legal guardianship of the Catholic missions delegated to civilize them.' (Bodley 1990: 85). By 1961, however, Law 135 allowed reserves to be formed for uncivilized Indians but was poorly implemented and indigenous rights suffered, although a 'resguardo' for the Kogi was put in place. In 1982, the National Development Program for Indigenous Populations (PRODEIN), a government agency to protect Indians, was established.

But it was the 1991 constitution, says Wearne, that set out ' the most comprehensive set of rights enjoyed by indigenous peoples anywhere in the Americas.' (Wearne 1996: 177). Peter Bunyard (Co-founder, with Edward Goldsmith, of the 'Ecologist' magazine) is enthusiastic about the results. 'Through resurrecting old colonial laws, Colombia has now found a legitimate mechanism that concedes the entitlement of indigenous communities to land to which they had a priori rights and equally grants them considerable autonomous status within Colombian sovereignty. For instance, indigenous communities in Colombia now have full rights to bring up their children according to their own traditions and in their own languages, to practise their own traditional medicines, and to pursue their own traditional systems of authority in holding their communities together.' (Bunyard in Conford 1992: 117).

In my view, it is certain that the Colombian government is sincere in its policies, but their implementation is not always guaranteed. Colombia's history in this century has been marked by a period called 'La Violencia', which officially ended in the 60's, but which has left a residual and endemic social and political violence with the balance of power held uneasily between the government and guerrilla organisations. In such situations, local political realities easily obstruct official policy, no matter how well-intentioned and desirable. But Colombia is also a Latin American success story; the only country to escape the 1980's debt crisis, it has a strong economy and a stable two-party political system.

It is true, however, that Gonavindua Tairona are beginning to receive particular official favour. In June 1993, President Gaviria made an official visit to Bonga described as cordial and pleasant by Amparo Jiminez. President Gaviria was first 'cleansed' by the Mamas in a ceremony designed to 'remove all old darkness from his soul'. He then repeated the official governmental policy of support and sympathy for the Kogi. In 1994, the Queen of Spain made a similarly cordial visit. Mama Valencia, whose special responsibility it is to remember history, asked her if she had come to give them their gold back.

In the same year, the original 'resguardo' was extended to include a corridor to the coast. (By definition, a 'resguardo' does not automatically hand over title of the land to Gonavindua Tairona. It means that the present owners, 'colonos' farmers and better established plantation owners, have agreed that they will sell only to Gonavindua Tairona. The Trust therefore retains interest in purchasing land within this corridor).

The political milieu, then, in which the Kogi exist, is an ambiguous one - military violence is mitigated by official benevolence. In this situation, the activities of the Trust have been helpful. Official policy is for the government to help those who help themselves, and Trust donations have enabled Gonavindua Tairona to point to a good track record, encouraging moral and financial support from the government.

References

Home PageContents