Indigenous Autonomy in Contemporary Colombia and Implications for the Return of Ethnographic Material

Resumo

This paper analyzes my on-going project of the return of ethnographic material in the context of the cultural and ethno-educational projects developed by the Siona people in response to Colombia’s indigenous policy. I conducted my major fieldwork in the 1970s, recording over 150 narratives in Siona language. I returned several times to the Putumayo until 1992 when the region became the center of armed violence. Since 2012 I have been involved in the return of ethnographic material, focusing on the native texts and their potential contribution to the language revitalization project proposed by the Asociación de los Cabildos del Pueblo Siona/ACIPS, the pan-Siona indigenous organization. As could be expected, the economic, environmental and social context has
altered beyond imagination over the last five decades, and the Siona struggle to survive, physically and ethnically in a region that has been permeated by armed violence and characterized as a “warzone” (Maybury-Lewis 2002; Ramírez 2002; 2011). Their communities and their political organization have been involved in a complex field of negotiations with the State, non-governmental organizations, extractive industries and diverse armed groups (paramilitaries, drug traffickers, military and guerrillas). In particular, cultural revitalization projects have been key in negotiations with the State and NGOs, not only for the guarantee of rights and autonomy as an indigenous people in Colombia today, but also for economic productivity. This paper reflects upon the reception of the return of ethnographic material in the light of their efforts to develop such projects aimed to ensure their ethnic and physical survival.