Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Indigenous peoples – Colombia'

Indigenous communities living in Arauca department, a region located on the Eastern Plains of Colombia, are at an imminent risk of physical and cultural extermination -according to the orders 004 and 382 from the Constitutional Court of Colombia- due to a double vulnerability which stems from a historic structural violence dating from the creation of the nation-state and direct violence as a consequence of armed conflict. The physical extermination refers to the high mortality rates that this population suffers either by violence or natural death, while the cultural extermination is a result of both an accelerated process of acculturation and a progressive loss of culture, territory and respect from traditional authorities. This study, by analyzing the local context and the actions that have done harm, addresses the best practices for humanitarian interventions over the role of territory, culture, governance and autonomy as key factors for empowering community members to overcome, face or diminish the consequences of these vulnerabilities.

This dissertation is aimed at analyzing how ethnic hierarchies question the environmentalization of indigeneity, which is the foundation of the Colombian state's multicultural policy. In particular, the dissertation develops a comparative ethnographic approach to the way in which the "multicultural turn" of 1991 impacted three indigenous communities located at San José del Guaviare, a colonization frontier in the Colombian Amazon: the Nükak, the Jiw and the Tucano. Against the assumption of multicultural policy that indigenous communities form a vast mass of people radically diferent from mainstream (even portrayed as anti-modern), in San José there is an unequal distribution of the Nükak, Jiw and Tucano in different positions inside local ethnic hierarchies. For some, Nükak incarnate what Hale (2004) label as a "good ethnicity", that serves to promote Guaviare as an eco-touristic destination, the Jiw are a "bad ethnicity" that annoys White people in San José, while the Tucano are portrayed as "civilized Indians". Thus, the dissertation states how these ethnic hierarchies contradict some of the core assumptions of multicultural policies that are based on an essentialized understanding of indigenous peoples as "ecologically noble savages." The dissertation argues that the analysis of contemporary experiences on indigeneity in an Amazonian context such as San José, could be better understood if it observes a set of processes and actors including: the historical transformation of senses on otherness, the production of forests as a field of domain under state regulations, the economic crossroads affecting indigenous peoples on their "resguardos" (indigenous lands) and the intervention of state laws, NGOs, indigenous political organizations, settlers, foreign governments and state officials. The analysis of such a variety of processes and actors shaping contemporary experiences on indigeneity in the Colombian Amazon follows the environmentality approach (Agrawal, 2005). From that perspective, I discuss the following ideas: a) indigenous resguardos were designed as governmentalized localities in multicultural policy to regulate and control how indigenous peoples manage natural resources; b) those communities portrayed as followers of the ecological nobility script act as regulatory communities; c) the technologies for governing the ecological realm do not necessarily assure the formation of environmental subjectivities.

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es analizar el “otro interno” indígena que construyeron los misioneros claretianos y carmelitas descalzos dentro del imaginario del proyecto nacional colombiano en el Urabá y el Chocó (Colombia) entre 1908 y 1952 con el fin de constatar que los intereses de los misioneros, en conjunción con las especificidades del territorio y de las poblaciones indígenas, condicionaron dicha construcción. Mediante el análisis de fuentes elaboradas por los propios religiosos en el devenir de su proyecto misional -revistas de propaganda misional, informes de misión, fotografías, películas, etc.- se ha querido, por un lado, caracterizar las poblaciones indígenas que poblaban los territorios de misión; señalar las especificidades del proyecto misional implementado por cada orden religiosa y analizar el proceso de formación misional de las órdenes de los claretianos y carmelitas descalzos; por otro, identificar y analizar las representaciones que construyeron las órdenes sobre ellos mismos, el territorio y los pueblos indígenas e indagar en las prácticas implementadas por ellos en el proceso de “civilización” de las comunidades indígenas. A través de esta exploración se ha podido constatar la estrecha relación que existió entre la implementación de un determinado proyecto misional y las especificidades territoriales, la idiosincrasia de las poblaciones indígenas del territorio y las propias características de los misioneros; que las distintas representaciones elaboradas por los religiosos de las poblaciones indígenas de los espacios de misión formaron parte de una estrategia para justificar sus logros o fracasos y, que a su vez, formaban parte de un proceso de formación identitaria de los propios misioneros ya que, para instituirse como autoridad moral en los territorios de misión debían justificar su posición mediante la construcción de un “nosotros” determinado que legitimase su superioridad frente a un “otro”, los indígenas. Para finalizar, destacar el papel jugado por los misioneros en la construcción de la alteridad a través de los distintos dispositivos y estrategias - representaciones y prácticas- implementados en la tarea de “civilizar” a los indígenas. Mediante éstos se pretendía instituir, fijar lo normal-regional, no en base a una horizontalidad e igualdad sino en base a una linealidad vertical generadora de clasificaciones jerárquicas internas que construía alteridades regionales. Por tanto, la jerarquización establecida sobre esas poblaciones desde las instancias de poder centrales, se resquebrajaba en el momento en que los misioneros empezaron a actuar en ese escenario específico del “territorio nacional”.
The main objective of this paper is to analyze “the internal other” in indigenous which was built by barefoot Claretian and Carmelite missionaries within the national Colombian project in Urabá y el Chocó (Colombia) between the years 1908 and 1952 to determine that the missionaries’ interests, in conjunction with the specificities of the territory and indigenous populations, conditioned such construction. Through the analysis of sources elaborated by the religious people in the development of their mission project -magazines of missionary propaganda, mission reports, photos, movies, among others-, it is intended, in one hand, to characterize indigenous populations that populate mission territories, to point out the specificities of the mission project implemented for every religious order and analyze the process of formation of missionaries in regulations of Claretian and Carmelite barefoot missionaries. On the other hand, it is intended to identify and analyze the representations that constructed the regulations among them, the territory and the indigenous peoples, to examine the practices implemented for them in the process of “civilization”' of indigenous communities. Through this exploration, it has been proven the close relation that existed between the implementation of a specific mission project and the specificities of the territory, the idiosyncrasy of indigenous populations of the territory and the characteristics of the missionaries. The different representations, elaborated by the religious people of indigenous populations in mission spaces, were part of a strategy to justify their achievements and failures, and at the same time, were part of a process of missionary identity formation, for to be placed as a moral authority in missionary territories, religious people had to justify their position through the construction of “us” determined to legitimize their superiority towards an “other”, the indigenous. To finish, it is remarkable the role played by the missionaries in the construction of the otherness through different strategies and mechanisms —implemented to “civilize” indigenous. Through this, it was intended to institute, establish the normal-regional, which was not based on horizontality or equality, but based on vertical linearity that generated internal hierarchical classifications which established regional otherness. Therefore, the hierarchy stablished on those populations from central authorities took apart in the moment in which missionaries started acting in that specific scenario of “the national territory”.

Cette thèse démontre comment le patrimoine préhispanique colombien devient un enjeu de reconnaissance pour les peuples autochtones, vingt ans après l’élaboration d’une constitution multiculturelle et néolibérale. Inspirée des travaux de L. Boltanski et d’E. Claverie, l’étude de trois affaires permet de saisir comment de nouvelles revendications ethniques transforment un dispositif patrimonial qui semblait immuable depuis plus d’un demi-siècle. L’analyse s’appuie sur un travail de terrain multisitué (Marcus, 1995). Elle explore les paysages (Appadurai, 2001) patrimoniaux et autochtones du « système monde » en les reliant à trois sites où des parcs archéologiques nationaux se situent au sein ou en bordure de territoires autochtones (Teyuna Ciudad Perdida, San Agustín et Tierradentro). En retraçant la biographie sociale et culturelle des vestiges (Appadurai et Kopytoff, 1986), nous expliquons comment le dispositif patrimonial, mis en place au début du vingtième siècle, est à l’origine d'une valorisation rhétorique et esthétique des racines préhispaniques du pays, mais en aucun cas d'une reconnaissance des peuples autochtones contemporains. Ecartés de l’histoire et de la gestion patrimoniale des parcs, les leaders autochtones entendent, à la fin des années 2000, transformer les régimes de vérité et de patrimonialité qu’ils jugent injustes. L’enjeu est de légitimer leur appropriation des sites afin de justifier leurs demandes de reconnaissance identitaire et territoriale. Le droit autochtone, les principes de l’UNESCO sur la diversité culturelle et le patrimoine immatériel, la pensée décoloniale et les craintes suscitées par le tourisme, sont autant de supports mobilisés pour justifier leurs attentes. Lors des affaires, différents systèmes de légitimité s'affrontent au cours d’épreuves de justice (Boltanski, Thevenot, 1991) et de force. Ce processus renforce les frontières ethniques par un effet d’altérisation patrimoniale et modifie le régime de patrimonialité : les vestiges deviennent les supports de nouvelles pratiques ethniques, rituelles et sacrées, les autochtones acquièrent une place de partenaires dans le nouveau dispositif patrimonial et la valeur relationnelle des artefacts devient aussi importante que leur matérialité
This thesis aims to understand how Colombia's pre-Hispanic heritage becomes a recognition issue for indigenous peoples, twenty years after the creation of a multicultural and neoliberal constitution. Inspired by the works of L. Boltanski and E. Claverie, the study of three “affairs” makes it possible to understand how new ethnic claims transform a heritage “dispositif” (Foucault, 1977) that seemed immutable for more than half a century. The analysis is based on a multi-sited field work (Marcus, 1995). It explores heritage-scapes (Appadurai, 2001), and indigenous-scapes of the "world system" by linking them to three sites where national archaeological parks are located within or bordering indigenous territories (Teyuna-Ciudad Perdida, San Agustín and Tierradentro). In retracing the social and cultural biography of the vestiges (Appadurai and Kopytoff, 1986), we explain how the heritage “dispositif”, introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century, gave rise to a rhetorical and aesthetic valorization of the country's pre-Hispanic roots, but in no way to the recognition of contemporary indigenous peoples. In the late 2000s, indigenous leaders, who were left out of the history and heritage management of parks, intend to transform the “truth regime” and “heritage regime” they consider unfair. The challenge is to legitimize their appropriation of the sites in order to justify their requests for identity and territorial recognition. Indigenous rights, UNESCO's principles on cultural diversity and intangible heritage, decolonial thinking and fears aroused by tourism are all resources used to justify their expectations. In those “affairs”, different systems of legitimacy clash during “tests of justification” (Boltanski, Thevenot, 1991) and “tests of strength”. This process reinforces ethnic boundaries through a heritage othering effect, and changes the heritage regime: artifacts become the supports of new ethnic, ritual and sacred practices, indigenous peoples acquire a place of partners in the new heritage “dispositif”, and the relational value of vestiges becomes as important as their materiality

Anthropology
Ph.D.
Since the 1970s, Colombia’s indigenous communities have been the beneficiaries of state-sanctioned cultural and territorial rights. They have also been extensively impacted by the drug trade in their territories. This dissertation examines how drug crop cultivation in indigenous territories has impacted the struggle for indigenous rights in Colombia. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out primarily with the Nasa indigenous community in the southwestern department of Cauca, Colombia. I argue that the drug trade has contributed to the accelerated transition of indigenous agricultural communities from a primarily subsistence-based economy to a cash-based economy that is dependent on the circulation of global commodities. I also argue that drug control policies have contributed to neoliberal multiculturalism in that they have helped to undermine the political autonomy of indigenous communities. Finally, state-regulated institutions such as schools and child welfare circulate moral narratives that emphasize family structure as a cause for social problems rather than political and historical conditions. I conclude with an assessment of how identity may be used for indigenous communities who continue to struggle for cultural and territorial rights in Colombia’s post-conflict era.
Temple University--Theses

This study of law and aboriginal people in Colombia builds on the premise that law is a form of local knowledge and that state law is reshaped locally, producing outcomes unanticipated by the state itself. Comaroff’s (2001) idea of lawfare, in which the state uses a legal regime to erode local autonomy, reflects the current reality in Colombia, but this notion does not explain this situation entirely. My data come from interviews with aboriginal leaders, experience as a public servant and reading of academic and popular literature. This case study of the Justice and Peace Law of 2005 examines legal processes of the state and aboriginal communities’ public responses to the state and their own internal debates and processes. In the end, I was able to explore the intersection of the state and aboriginal people. Colombia’s unique violence, product of political struggles and economical interests, was supposed to disrupt society has, paradoxically, strengthened community ties. I have drawn three major conclusions to my argument. First, the passage of the JPL has inadvertently strengthened solidarity amongst the Embera – Chamí and other aboriginal groups. Second, this strengthening of solidarity has itself increased indigenous identity; and third, aboriginal justice practices have been transformed and solidified. This too has strengthened community cohesion.

En Medellín, Colombia, existen una serie indígenas migrados desde sus comunidades que han construido un cabildo pluriétnico, el cabildo urbano Chibcariwak, y que reivindican que se puede ser indígena viviendo en la ciudad. Por otro lado, tanto la organización indígena de la región, la Organización Indígena de Antioquia – OIA –, como el Estado colombiano cuestionan la “autenticidad” identitaria de estos indígenas que viven en contexto urbano por el hecho de que no cumplen con una serie de características – que vivan en contacto con la Naturaleza, que practiquen rituales propios, etc. –. En este trabajo se cuestiona el discurso indigenista que obliga a estas personas a comportarse de una manera determinada si quieren “conservar” la identidad, determinando cuál es el locus enuntiationis desde el que se construye, y también la lógica que hay detrás de este discurso, que lo que hace, al fin y al cabo, es reproducir a nivel epistémico las relaciones de dominio y explotación propias de la colonialidad. En definitiva, este trabajo busca determinar si el movimiento indígena actual que hay en esta región de Colombia representa una alteridad, o bien actúa como un agente más del sistema-mundo moderno/colonial.
In Medellin, Colombia, there are indigenous migrated from thier communities who have built a multi-ethnic cabildo, the urban cabildo Chibcariwak, and they claim that can be indigenous living in the city. On the other hand, both the indigenous organization of the region, the Indigenous Organization of Antioquia – OIA – such as the Colombian State identity question the "authenticity" of these indigenous people living in urban context by the fact that do not comply with a series of features – living in contact with Nature, to practice own rituals, etc. –. In this paper, the indigenous discourse that forces these people to behave in a certain way if they want to "preserve" the identity is questioned, determining what is the locus enuntiationis from which it is built, and also the logic behind this discourse is questioned, that what, in the final analysis, is to reproduce in a epistemic level the domain and exploitation relations of coloniality. In short, this study seeks to determine whether the current indigenous movement is in this region of Colombia represents an alternative, or acts as an agent more of the modern/colonial world- system.

En 1993, la Colombie réforme son système de santé en suivant les orientations données par la Constitution politique adoptée en 1991 et les recommandations du « consensus de Washington ». Le pays entre dans une nouvelle ère politique dans laquelle la question sociale est redéfinie autour du thème de la pauvreté, tandis que la question ethnique acquière une visibilité inédite. Dans ce contexte, des Entités Promotrices de Santé Indigènes (EPSI) sont créées à partir du modèle générique des EPS, ces organismes d’administration de l’affiliation et des budgets de la santé qui jouent un rôle d’intermédiaire entre l’État et le patient. Les EPSI sont étroitement liées au monde autochtone. Elles gèrent l’accès à la santé d’une population dont la plus grande majorité doit être autochtone. Le personnel qui assure leur fonctionnement est recruté dans l’espace social et politique autochtone. Enfin, ce sont les autorités dites « traditionnelles » qui les contrôlent. Pour être des représentantes des communautés, ces autorités donnent aux EPSI une nature juridique publique, ce qui leur confère un caractère spécifique dans un système de santé où la tendance est à la généralisation de la privatisation. Quelles sont alors les conséquences de l’intégration à la gestion des affaires publiques de ces structures de pouvoir autochtones et de leurs agents. Quels sont aussi les effets de domination et/ou les expressions d’autonomie que la pratique concrète de ce multiculturalisme génère ? Analysant les enjeux qui se dessinent au sein du champ de la santé interculturelle, la thèse s’organise autour de trois moments. Il s’agit d’abord de caractériser le paradigme dans lequel sont pensés, depuis l’État, le système de santé et l’interculturalité pour comprendre comment les politiques du multiculturalisme deviennent un outil de domination par l’intégration. Le mode opératoire de cette gouvernementalité néolibérale s’appuie en particulier sur la promotion de l’empowerment, la participation autochtone au système de santé en étant l’une des expressions. On s’intéresse ensuite à la dimension dialectique des politiques du multiculturalisme à partir d’une enquête ethnographique menée sur trois EPSI dans trois départements (Cauca, César, La Guajira). La pratique de ce multiculturalisme conduit à une réinterprétation du sens qui lui est donné, en particulier au travers de la réappropriation de pouvoirs (contrôle territorial, biopouvoir) par laquelle devient possible la construction d’une autonomie de ces espaces autochtones. Mais cette autonomie n’est rendue possible, et cela constitue le troisième moment de la démonstration, que par l’existence préalable d’une dynamique sociale, collective et historiquement fixée qui a permis la formation d’un groupe d’agents capables de produire un discours et une pratique propre. Il s’agit alors d’étudier au travers de récits biographiques la formation sociale de ces possibles contre-publics autochtones en s’intéressant à la construction des habitus des agents et aux économies morales locales et globales qui ont contribué à la consolidation de ces contre-publics
In 1993, Colombia reformed its healthcare system by following the orientations brought out by the political Constitution adopted in 1991 and the prescriptions emanating from the « Washington consensus ». The country enters a new political era in which social issues are redefined around the theme of poverty, whereas ethnic issues acquire a new visibility. In this context, Entities Promoting Indigenous Health (EPIH) are created from the generic model of EPHs, which are public administrative bodies dealing with healthcare affiliations and budgets and play an intermediary role between the State and the patient. The EPIH is closely intertwined with the native world. In fact, these entities manage the access to health care services for a population that must be of great majority native. The personnel and agents that run these entities are recruited in the native social and political realm. Furthermore, what is known as the "traditional" authority fully supervises these entities. To officially represent these native communities, these authorities give to the EPSI a public legal status, which confers them a distinctive character in the health care system more generally undergoing privatization reforms. What are the consequences of bringing in indigenous authorities and agents of these health agencies in the administration of public affairs? What are the effect on power relations and/or expressions of autonomy generated by the concrete application of this multiculturalism? Analyzing the issues that are brought out in the realm of intercultural health, this thesis is structured around three main parts. The first part will define the paradigm in which are thought out, from a state perspective, the interculturality of the health care system to understand how politics of multiculturalism, through integration, become a method of domination. The modus operandi of neo-liberal governance is based on the notion of empowerment, i.e. indigenous participation to the health care system being one of its manifestations. The second part will study the dialectical dimension of multiculturalism politics based on an ethnographic study conducted in three EPIH in three states (Cauca, César, La Guajira). The concrete application of this politics of multiculturalism leads to a re-interpretation of its meaning and an re-appropriation of social power dynamnics (territorial control, biopolitics) through which become possible the construction of autonomous indigenous space. However, the third part will analyze how this autonomy is only made possible by preexisting social, collective, and historical dynamics, which enabled a group of agents to produce a discourse and their own application of public affairs. We will thus study with the help of biographical narratives how it is possible to form counterpublics by looking at the habitus of the agents and at the local and global moral economy that helped shape these counterpublics

A visibilidade das comunidades indígenas que habitam as cidades é um fenômeno recente na Colômbia. Embora o país se proclame como multiétnico e multicultural na Carta Constitucional de 1991, reconhecendo a vasta diversidade que o compõe, a pluralidade indígena ainda é tecida a partir do senso comum, ligada a uma existência eminentemente rural. Considerando a conturbada realidade colombiana, diversos fatores incentivam as comunidades indígenas a migrarem para a cidade e permanecerem nela. Neste processo, as crianças indígenas pequenas se afastam das possibilidades e vivências oferecidas pelas comunidades e territórios de origem, para se construírem como indígenas. Diante dessa realidade, surgem em 2007 as Casas de Pensamento Intercultural (CPI) de Bogotá, como forma de dar uma resposta pertinente à primeira infância indígena (meninos e meninas entre três meses e cinco anos), que moram na cidade. Esta pesquisa aborda as estratégias de existência e re-existência que as crianças indígenas, suas famílias, comunidades e as equipes pedagógicas das CPI forjam no coração de Bogotá, como espaços vivenciais para se constituíremse como indígenas. No desenvolvimento da tese, mostra-se que as CPI potencializam seu trabalho graças aos movimentos e às vivências de apropriação e ressignificação feitas pelas comunidades indígenas que ali se encontram Assim, as CPI se constróem a partir do encontro da diversidade, mediado por tensões, disputas e contradições. Situo-me nesse território utilizando as contribuições da antropologia da infância, em especial de Andrea Sulzc, Clarice Cohn e Angela Nunes. Para compreender as existências e re-existências, me baseio nas elaborações do pesquisador colombiano Adolfo Albán Achinte e proponho o essencialismo estratégico como uma forma de re-existência na cidade. Para tensionar a reflexão, recorro às contribuições de Catherine Walsh em relação à interculturalidade crítica. Contudo, o pensamento do filósofo argentino Rodolfo Kusch é o fino fio que une e encadeia cada um dos movimentos de aproximação que proponho. As vivências que atravessam a vida das crianças indígenas que estão nas CPI são apresentadas como um anúncio do surgimento de uma pedagogia mestiça, que assume o encontro das culturas como um cenário em disputa, mediado por tensões e contradições e, por essa mesma razão, profundamente fecundo. A partir desse cotidiano dinâmico, vivido em um cenário educacional indígena emergente na cidade, se constróem diversas formas de existência e re-existência, que se reúnem na música, na língua própria, na arte e no artesanato, na relação com o território de origem, na espiritualidade e na medicina ancestral.
The visibility of indigenous communities that inhabit cities is a recent phenomenon in Colombia. Although the country considers itself multi-ethnic and multicultural in the Constitutional Charter of 1991, thus recognizing the vast diversity that composes it, indigenous plurality is still woven from common sense, mainly linked to an eminently rural existence. Taking into account the convulsed reality in Colombia, various factors encourage indigenous communities to migrate to the cities and stay there. In this process, very young indigenous children move away from the possibilities and experiences offered by their communities and territories of origin to become indigenous. Faced with this reality, the Intercultural Thought Houses (CPIs) of Bogotá emerged in 2007, as a way of giving a pertinent response to young indigenous children (boys and girls between three months and five years) who live in the city. This research tackles the strategies of existence and reexistence that indigenous children, their families, communities, and pedagogical teams of the CPIs forge in the heart of Bogotá, as living spaces to become indigenous. In this thesis, I show that CPIs potentiate their work thanks to movements and experiences of appropriation and re-signification made by the indigenous communities that are there Thus CPIs are built from the combination of diversity, mediated by tensions, disputes, and contradictions. For their study, I use notions of the anthropology of childhood, proposed by Andrea Sulzc, Clarice Cohn, and Angela Nunes. To understand existences and re-existences, I work with the theory of Colombian researcher Adolfo Albán Achinte, and suggest that strategic essentialism is a form of re-existence in the city. Moreoever, as a means to expand the debate, I examine Catherine Walsh’s proposals regarding critical interculturality. Finally, all movements of approximation that I propose are connected by the ideas of the Argentinian philosopher Rodolfo Kusch. The daily life experiences of indigenous children who are in the CPIs can be taken as the result of the development of a mestizo pedagogy, which manages to take the encounter of cultures as a scenario in dispute, mediated by tensions and contradictions, and, for that very reason, extremely fruitful. From such dynamic daily life, lived in an emerging indigenous educational setting in the city, various forms of existence and re-existence are built, and brought together in music, language, art and crafts, the relationship with the territory of origin, spirituality, and ancestral medicine.

Les Muiscas du passé sont très présents dans l’imaginaire sur les peuples autochtones colombiens, leur traitement dans les lieux officiels de mémoire reproduit souvent un discours idéalisé, déjà présent dans les projets nationaux du XIXe siècle. L’historiographie colombienne donne une grande importance à la représentation des Muiscas préhispaniques et, partiellement, à ceux de la période coloniale. La connaissance sur le peuple Muisca est souvent ancrée dans une vision patrimoniale et passéiste de la présence indigène, en tant que composante d’une histoire commune mais éloignée de la vie quotidienne des communautés contemporaines. La prépondérance de l’image mythifiée du peuple Muisca du passé peut être comprise d’un point de vue historique par l’influence de l’indigénisme, du positivisme et de l’esprit nationaliste du XIXe siècle. Cette influence a contribué à la production de l’idée d’un « empire Muisca » ou d’une « civilisation chibcha » participant à la consolidation de l’imaginaire national colombien sur le socle d’une supposée continuité historique entre la nouvelle Nation et cet empire préhispanique. La force de ce récit se ressent encore aujourd’hui par la relégation des communautés Mhuysqas contemporaines habitant sur les anciens territoires de resguardo . Celles-ci cherchent une reconnaissance officielle et tentent de répondre aux exigences des normes en vigueur, tout en interrogeant la construction officielle de « l’indigène ». Cette recherche montre comment, depuis une vingtaine d’années, les Mhuysqas de Cota, dans le département de Cundinamarca, se tournent vers le passé pour y retrouver les vestiges de leurs ancêtres Muiscas et reconstruire, recréer ou réinterpréter une culture éclipsée, d'abord par l’imposition espagnole puis par la construction de l’Etat-Nation Colombien. Bien que leur présence continue sur le territoire se retrouve facilement dans de nombreux écrits publics, des écueils majeurs ont obstrué leur considération sociale et politique en tant que indigènes, participant à un climat de suspicion à l’encontre de ce peuple retrouvé.En outre, l’émergence de grandes organisations indigènes depuis les années soixante-dix, l’intégration des acteurs autochtones dans les institutions internationales ainsi que le renforcement d’un discours ethno-environnemental, ajoutent des niveaux de représentation à l’image de l’autochtonie. Dans ce sens, l’ethnographie proposée montre les manières dont la communauté s’inscrit, joue et se sert de cette multiplicité de représentations afin d’être légitimement reconnue comme groupe ethnique à part entière. Elle montre aussi, comment la communauté de Cota demeure, malgré tout, contrainte de reproduire les caractéristiques fantasmées mobilisées par ce nouveau contexte
The Musicas of the past are very present in the imaginary of the indigenous Colombian peoples, their treatment in official spaces of memory often reproduces an idealized discourse, already present in the national projects of the nineteenth century. Colombian historiography gives great importance to the representation of pre-Hispanic Muiscas and, in part, to those of the colonial period. Knowledge about the Muisca people is often rooted in a patrimonial and historical vision of the indigenous presence, as a component of a common history but far removed from the everyday life of contemporary communities. The preponderance of the mystified image of the Muisca people of the past can be understood from the historical point of view by the influence of indigenousism, positivism and the nationalist spirit of the nineteenth century. This influence contributed to the production of the idea of a “Muisca empire” or a “chibcha civilization”, participating in the consolidation of the national Colombian imagination on the basis of a supposed historical continuity between the new Nation and this pre-Hispanic empire. The strength of this narrative is still felt today by the relegation of contemporary Mhuysqa communities dwellering on the former territories of resguardo. These seek official recognition and try to meet the requirements of the standards in force, while questioning the official construction of the “indigenous”. This research shows how, for the last twenty years, the Mhuysqas of Cota, in the department of Cundinamarca, have turned to the past to find the vestiges of their ancestors Muiscas and reconstruct, recreate or reinterpret an eclipsed culture, first by the Spanish colonisation and then by the construction of the Colombian Nation-State. Although their continuous presence on the territory is easily found in number of public writings, major pitfalls have obstructed their social and political consideration as indigenous, participating to a climate of suspicion against this found people. In addition, the emergence of indigenous organisations since the 1970s, the integration of indigenous actors in the international institutions, and also the reinforcement of an ethno-environmental discourse, add levels of representations to the image of indigenousness. In this sense, the proposed ethnography shows the ways in which the community fits into, plays and uses this multiplicity of representations in order to be legitimately recognized as an ethnic group in its own right. It also shows how the Cota community remains, despite everything, forced to reproduce the fantasized characteristics mobilized by this new context
Los Muiscas del pasado están muy presentes en el imaginario sobre los pueblos indígenas colombianos, la manera como son tratados en los espacios oficiales de memoria reproduce, frecuentemente, un discurso idealizado, presente en los albores de los proyectos nacionales durante el siglo XIX. La historiografía colombiana da gran importancia a la representación de los Muiscas prehispánicos y, en cierta media, a aquella referente al periodo colonial. El conocimiento sobre el pueblo muisca se basa, en gran medida, en una visión patrimonial y paseista de la presencia indígena, parte integrante de la historia común, pero alejada de la vida cotidiana de las comunidades contemporáneas. La preponderancia de la imagen mistificada del pueblo Muisca del pasado, puede ser comprendida desde un punto de vista histórico a través de la influencia del indigenismo, del positivismo y del espíritu nacionalista del siglo XIX. Esta influencia contribuyó a la producción de la idea de « Imperio muisca » o de « Civilización chibcha » que participaron en la consolidación del imaginario nacional colombiano cimentado en la supuesta continuidad histórica entre la nueva Nación y este imperio prehispánico. La fuerza de este relato se puede sentir aún hoy a través de la relegación de las comunidades Mhuysqas contemporáneas que viven en los antiguos territorios de resguardo . Estas, buscan un reconocimiento oficial e intentan responder a las exigencias normativas en vigor, cuestionando, a pesar de todo, la construcción oficial de lo indígena. Esta investigación muestra cómo, desde hace más de dos décadas, los Mhuysqas de Cota, Cundinamarca, se tornan hacia su pasado buscando los vestigios de sus ancestros para reconstruir, recrear o reinterpretar una cultura ocultada, primero por la colonización y luego por la construcción del Estado Nación colombiano. Aunque su presencia continua en sus territorios pueda ser atestada fácilmente a través de numerosos documentos públicos, grandes obstáculos impiden que sean considerados social y políticamente como indígenas, lo que participa a la instalación de un clima de suspicacia contra este pueblo re-descubierto.Si a esto se añade la emergencia de las grandes organizaciones indígenas desde los años setenta, la integración de actores autóctonos en las instituciones internacionales o aún la influencia de los discursos etnoecológicos, los niveles de representación de la imagen de la autoctonía se multiplican. En este sentido, la etnografía que proponemos muestra las diversas maneras que la comunidad utiliza para inscribirse, jugar y se servir de esta multiplicidad de representaciones para ser, finalmente, legítimamente reconocida como grupo étnico. Se muestra también, cómo la comunidad de Cota se ve obligada, a pesar de todo, a reproducir las características idealizadas que dominan en este nuevo contexto

El reconocimiento de la diversidad cultural al interior de las sociedades ha conferido una nueva dimensión al principio de igualdad dentro de los Estados democráticos, de la cual Colombia ha sido vista como pionera. Haciendo un análisis del discurso de la normatividad en materia de salud dirigida a las poblaciones indígenas, el principal objetivo de esa tesis es el de conocer las prioridades establecidas por la legislación en Colombia y analizar su coherencia con el discurso sobre la igualdad y las medidas de discriminación positiva creadas para desarrollarlo. Este trabajo discute también las nociones de pobreza y vulnerabilidad aplicada a los indígenas y la forma como dichos preceptos desembocan en una cierta concepción de la igualdad la cual satisface sólo parcialmente las finalidades buscadas por las medidas de discriminación positiva; Resumo: O reconhecimento da diversidade cultural nas sociedades tem conferido uma nova dimensão ao princípio da igualdade dentro dos Estados democráticos, da qual Colômbia tem sido vista como pioneira. Fazendo uma análise do discurso da normatividade nas questões de saúde dirigida às populações indígenas, o principal objectivo desta tese é o de conhecer as prioridades estabelecidas pela legislação e analisar a sua coerência com o discurso sobre a igualdade e as medidas de discriminação positiva criadas para o desenvolver. Este trabalho discute também as noções de pobreza e vulnerabilidade aplicadas aos indígenas e a forma como a referida regulamentação cria uma certa concepção de igualdade, a qual só satisfaz parcialmente as finalidades que as medidas de discriminação positiva procuram atingir; Abstract: The recognition of cultural diversity within societies has given a new dimension to the principle of equality within democratic states, of which Colombia has been seen as a pioneer. By making an analysis of the discourse of health regulations aimed at indigenous people, the main objective of this thesis is to know the priorities established by the legislation in Colombia as well as analyze its consistency with both, the discourse on equality and affirmative action measures created to develop it. This study also discusses the notions of poverty and vulnerability as applied to indigenous people and the way these notions lead to a certain conception of equality which only partially meets the objectives sought by affirmative action.

Vingt-cinq ans après la ratification de la Convention de l'Unesco de 1970 et un an après celle de la Convention d'Unidroit de 1995 par l’État colombien, il est pertinent de réaliser un état des lieux du droit du patrimoine culturel colombien et de son appréhension des problématiques liées à la circulation des biens archéologiques et à leur transfert de propriété. Si ces vestiges appartiennent incontestablement à la Nation depuis 1991, leur protection constitutionnelle ne suffit pas à satisfaire la politique nationaliste que ce pays-source souhaiterait mener. Le questionnement est donc double : d'une part, celui du régime juridique auquel les biens archéologiques sont soumis sur le territoire national et, d'autre part, celui des possibilités d'application de ce dispositif protecteur lorsqu'ils se trouvent à l'étranger. Il s'agit donc de s'interroger sur la clarté et la précision du régime juridique auquel ces vestiges sont soumis en droit colombien pour permettre à l’État de fonder des demandes en restitution ou de retour susceptibles de réussir et, aussi, de définir dans quelle mesure ce dispositif national peut être appliqué par les autorités et les tribunaux étrangers. Par ailleurs, les traités internationaux spécialement adoptés en la matière depuis la seconde moitié du XXe siècle semblent insuffisants en vue de répondre aux attentes colombiennes de restitution et de retour de ses biens archéologiques. La pratique a démontré que la lutte internationale contre le trafic illicite reste étroitement liée aux législations nationales, tant celle de l’État requérant que celle de l’État requis. Les stratégies contentieuses susceptibles d'être mises en œuvre devant les autorités et les tribunaux français ont été étudiées à titre d'exemple. Plusieurs acteurs sont au centre de ces disputes : les États, les peuples autochtones, les marchands d'art et les musées. La diversité de leurs intérêts révèle la complexité des rapports qui peuvent se tisser autour de ces vestiges considérés, selon les différents points de vue, comme des objets identitaires, sacrés, artistiques ou scientifiques.Enfin, au regard de l'évolution récente du droit du patrimoine culturel colombien, les conditions semblent présentes pour revisiter le rapport que ce pays entretient vis-à-vis des vestiges archéologiques d'origine colombienne qui se trouvent à l'étranger
It has been more than twenty-five years since Colombia State ratified the 1970 Unesco Convention and one year later it ratified the 1995 Unidroit Convention. It is now relevant to evaluate Colombia’s cultural heritage law and its perception of the issues surrounding the international trade of archaeological objects and ownership transfer. If archaeological antiquities belong unmistakably to the Nation since 1991, their constitutional protection does not satisfy the nationalistic policy this source country would like to lead.The evaluation of cultural heritage law is a double issue. On the one hand, there is the problem of how the domestic laws are applied to archaeological objects within the national territory. On the other hand, there is the difficulty of implementing domestic legislation when the antiquities are abroad. It is therefore a question of assessing if Colombia’s cultural heritage legislation has a framework that is clear and precise enough to allow the State to succeed in its claims and of defining to what extent it can be reinforced by foreign authorities and courts.Furthermore, international treaties adopted in this field since the second half of the twentieth century seem insufficient to meet Colombia´s concerns. Practice has shown that the international fight against illicit trade is closely bound to domestic laws, either that of the requesting State or of the requested State. The litigation strategies that can be brought before French authorities and courts have been studied as an example.These conflicts concern several actors: States, indigenous people, art dealers and museums. Their different level of interests reveal the complexity of the relationships that can be built among these antiquities considered, according to the stakeholders’ point of view, as identity, sacred, artistic or scientific objects.Finally, the recent development of Colombia’s cultural heritage legislation seems to challenge the country’s relation with its archaeological objects abroad

This project engages with the Kogi, an Amerindian indigenous people from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in northern Colombia. Kogi leaders have been engaging in a consistent ecological-political activism to protect the Sierra Nevada from environmentally harmful developments. More specifically, they have attempted to raise awareness and understanding among the wider public about why and how these activities are destructive according to their knowledge and relation to the world. The foreign nature of these underlying ontological understandings, statements, and practices, has created difficulties in conveying them to mainstream, scientific society. Furthermore, the pre-determined cosmological foundations of Kogi society, continuously asserted by them, present a problem to anthropology in terms of suitable analytical categories. My work aims to clarify and understand Kogi environmental activism in their own terms, aided by anthropological concepts and “Western” forms of expression. I elucidate and explain how Kogi ecology and public politics are embedded in an old, integrated, and complex way of being, knowing, and perceiving on the Sierra Nevada. I argue that theoretically this task involves taking a realist approach that recognises the Kogi’s cause as intended truth claims of practical environmental relevance. By avoiding constructivist and interpretivist approaches, as well as the recent “ontological pluralism” in anthropology, I seek to do justice to the Kogi’s own essentialist and universalist ontological principles, which also implies following their epistemological rationale. For this purpose, I immersed myself for two years in Kogi life on the Sierra, and focused on structured learning sessions with three Mamas, Kogi spiritual leaders and knowledge specialists. I reflect on how this interaction was possible because my project was compatible with the Mamas’ own desire to clarify and contextualise the Kogi ecological cause. After presenting this experience, I analyse the material as a multifaceted, interrelated, and elaborate system to reflect the organic, structured composition of Kogi and Sierra, also consciously conveyed as such by the Mamas. I hereby intend to show how the Kogi reproduce, live, and sustain this system through daily practices and institutions, and according to cosmological principles that guide a knowledgeable, ecological relationality with things, called ‘the Law of Origin’. To describe this system, I develop a correspondingly holistic and necessary integration of the anthropological concepts of cosmology, ontology, epistemology, and ecology. Based on this, I argue that Kogi eco-politics are equally embedded in this system, and constitute a contemporary attempt to maintain their regulatory relations with the Sierra Nevada and complement their everyday care-taking practices and rituals. In Kogi terms, this continuity and coherence is a moral imperative and environmental necessity. Thus framing and clarifying Kogi eco-politics may enrich insights into the nature of indigenous ecological knowledge, and may help address environmental problems.

This thesis investigates the contexts, rationales, and practices of collaborative governance between Wayúu indigenous chiefs and Parks (national parks authority) in Makuira National Park, northeast Colombia. The study looks into the Wayúu institutions for territorial governance; policies for conservation, participation and indigenous rights; and key aspects of cross-cultural park governance. The field research was based on an in-depth qualitative case study. I used an ethnographic approach with document review, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and use of existing qualitative data. The Wayúu people have a system of customary territorial governance that comprises institutions regarding ownership, access, use, and control of territory and its resources. Wayúu sacred places in Makuira Mountains follow spiritual institutions for proper behaviour and respectful relations with supernatural beings. However, Wayúu territorial governance and autonomy is affected by broader contexts of social-political and economic processes. “Parks with People” policy seeks to enhance governance in protected areas by addressing conflicts, recognizing indigenous territories, authority, and mutual collaboration. Co-government is approached as a “signature of agreements” by Parks in Bogotá, as an “ongoing process” by Makuira National Park staff and as an “alliance” by indigenous peoples. While formal co-government process is mostly led by Parks, Wayúu institutions influence informal day-to-day practice. Most Wayúu rights are recognised however, self-determination is not fully recognised. Wayúu park staff helps facilitate cross-cultural respect and achieve more horizontal relations. These research findings highlight the importance of collaborative approaches for conservation that address historically informed national and local contexts and conflicts that at the same time recognise territorial and self-government rights. Supporting and building upon local institutions and customary management practices are important components of a more inclusive and rights-based practice of conservation. These findings provide for a more nuanced understanding of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs). While indigenous territories do have protected features; they are combined with other territorial practices that can be regarded as “incompatible” with conservation by other actors. This limits ICCAs ability to leverage for full recognition of indigenous rights. This study demonstrates that such rights recognition should happen at the constitutional level and not be attached to conservation objectives.

Muiscas figure prominently in Colombian national historical accounts as a worthy and valuable indigenous culture, comparable to the Incas and Aztecs, but without their architectural grandeur. The magnificent goldsmith’s art locates them on a transnational level as part of the legend of El Dorado. Today, though the population is small, Muiscas are committed to cultural revitalization. The 19th century project of constructing the Colombian nation split the official Muisca history in two. A radical division was established between the illustrious indigenous past exemplified through Muisca culture as an advanced, but extinct civilization, and the assimilation politics established for the indigenous survivors, who were considered degraded subjects to be incorporated into the national project as regular citizens (mestizos). More than a century later, and supported in the 1991’s multicultural Colombian Constitution, the nation-state recognized the existence of five Muisca cabildos (indigenous governments) in the Bogotá Plateau, two in the capital city and three in nearby towns. As part of their legal battle for achieving recognition and maintaining it, these Muisca communities started a process of cultural revitalization focused on language, musical traditions, and healing practices. Today’s Muiscas incorporate references from the colonial archive, archeological collections, and scholars’ interpretations of these sources into their contemporary cultural practices. They also rely on knowledge shared with other indigenous groups related to them. This dissertation examines the revitalization of Muisca musical and language practices as part of a larger cultural process. This revitalization demonstrates how indigenous communities navigate the challenges of multicultural politics designed, at least in principle, to support ethnic and cultural difference. To this end: I analyze the Andean-oriented musical practices of current Muisca communities in the Bogotá savanna that are performed in public events; and I examine the Muisca affective attachments to música andina and its role in shaping a Muisca indigeneity according to present time. The ethnographic study of Andean music as it is performed in current Muisca cabildos also demonstrate the connection between sound and politics. I explore how Muisca song and language help in dealing with the contradictions of reemerging indigenous groups under the nation’s multicultural governmentality. I study how música andina style, including the stereotype of Andean indigeneity advanced by the sounds, instruments, and lyrics, contributes to the development of a Muisca identity and supports cultural revitalization and official recognition. In this way, I argue that the sonic revitalization provides an aural identity formation beyond the nation-state’s essentialistic parameters of indigeneity, thus contributing to guarantee minimal conditions for survival as an indigenous community. Out of the different sociolinguistic situations where Muysc cubun (the Muisca language) is used, I trace the details and difficulties of the process of language revitalization through the analysis of a corpus of Muisca songs. It is time to recognize that many of the previous studies of colonial Muysc cubun sources followed the grammarian approach of missionaries, and consequently neglected the description of sound. Most importantly, it is time to pay attention to the sociolinguistic discourse of current Muiscas. Today’s Muisca people who have viscerally lived the long history of silencing, and territorial and cultural dispossession have a say in what has been lost and what can be built. They put forward an update of the colonial reduced general language as part of the way to build themselves as indigenous in the 21st century and rewrite the history of the nation.