the portrayal of colombian indigenous amazonian, jean jackson

8/9/2019 The Portrayal of Colombian Indigenous Amazonian, Jean Jackson

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3

The Por t r ayal of Col ombi an I ndi genous Amazoni an Peopl es by the Nat i onal

Pr ess, 19882006

J ean E. J ackson

I n t hi s chapt er I exami ne ar t i cl es publ i shed i n Col ombi a' s t wo nat i onal dai l y

newspapers on t he count r y' s Amazoni an i ndi genous communi t i es. I expl ore t he

ways t he j our nal i st s and photogr aphers worki ng f or El Espect ador and El

Ti empo const r uct t he di f f er ences bet ween i ndi genous Amazoni ans and t he

count r y' s noni ndi genous ci t i zens, and bet ween Amazoni an i ndi genous

communi t i es ( r ef err ed t o here as puebl os, "peopl e, " " t own") and puebl os

l ocat ed i n ot her r egi ons. The ar t i cl es wer e col l ect ed as par t of a l ar ger ,

ongoi ng r esear ch pr oj ect i nvest i gat i ng t hese t wo newspapers' r epr esent at i ons

of i ndi genous Col ombi a dur i ng t he per i od 19882006.

When concept ual i zi ng t hi s l arger r esearch pr oj ect I assumed t hat t he

t wo dai l i es woul d of f er a ser i ousl y di st or t ed pi cture of t he count r y' s

i ndi genous peopl e. I envi si oned uncover i ng t he newspapers' par t i ci pat i on i n

"opaque as wel l as t r anspar ent st r uct ur al r el ati onshi ps of domi nance,

di scr i mi nat i on, power and cont r ol as mani f est ed i n l anguage" ( Wodak 2001: 2) .

I hoped t o " i nvest i gat e cri t i cal l y soci al i nequal i t y as i t i s expr essed,

si gnal ed, const i t ut ed, l egi t i mi zed . . . by l anguage use" ( 2) , wor ki ng t o

make such di scour ses more vi si bl e and t r ansparent ( Bl ommaer t 1000

I cer t ai nl y uncover ed exampl es of bi as, i gnor ance, i nsensi t i vi t y, and

ethnocent r i sm i n t hese t wo newspapers. Especi al l y i n t he Amazoni an cor pus I

f ound exampl es of t ext s t hat masked the ef f ect s of power and i deol ogy i n t he

pr oduct i on of meani ng, so t hat unequal power r el at i onshi ps came cl oser t o

acqui r i ng st abl e and nat ur al f orms and t o bei ng accept ed as "gi ven" ( Wodak

2001: 3) . I f ound many i nst ances of " ot her i ng, " at t i mes ext ensi ve. "Ot her i ng"

r ef er s t o depi ct i ons t hat hi ghl i ght al t er i t y. Negat i ve ot her i ng i n i t s

mi l dest f or m di spar ages; i n i t s most bl at ant f or m i t sends vi r ul ent l y r aci st,

sexi st , and xenophobi c messages. I f ound that , overal l , Amazoni an puebl os ar e

more ot her ed t han non- Amazoni an puebl os, t he cont r ast sharpest bet ween

r epr esent at i ons of Amazoni an and Andean puebl os. I al so f ound much more

pronounced ot her i ng of Amazoni an women than men, some of i t vergi ng on

negat i ve ot her i ng. However , I f ound no case of cl ear l y negat i ve

and Bul caen

2000: 448) . I assumed such symbol i c domi nat i on woul d be easy t o document .

1000AU: spelled Blommaert in refs; please correct throughout Done


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r epr esent at i ons of puebl os or t hei r member s. ( Some ar t i cl es publ i shed pr i or

t o 1988 do cont ai n negat i ve st ereotypes and at t i mes exhi bi t shocki ngl y

bi ased at t i t udes. )

The absence of expl i ci t l y negat i ve ot her i ng i s surpr i si ng, especi al l y

when we t ake i nto account t he f act t hat t hese t wo newspaper s ar e by no means

l ef t - l i ber al ; bot h ar e owned by f ami l i es i n t he ol i gar chy. Nor ar e t hey

especi al l y good. El Espectador has chal l enged government pol i cy more

aggr essi vel y t han El Ti empo, and i t s coverage of t he nat i on' s i ndi genous

puebl os has been more ext ensi ve and f avorabl e. ( Fi nanci al pr obl ems event ual l y

f orced El Espect ador t o publ i sh weekl y, al t hough i t st i l l publ i shes dai l y on

t he I nt ernet . ) The absence i s even more st r i ki ng when we consi der t he hi ghl y

negat i ve t r eat ment of i ndi genous popul at i ons i n t he nat i onal pr ess i n sever al

other Lat i n Ameri can count r i es, f or exampl e, Br azi l ( Ramos 1998) and

Guat emal a ( Hal e 2006) .

Cl ear l y, under st andi ng t he hi st or i cal cont ext i s cr i t i cal i f we ar e t o

expl ai n my mai n f i ndi ng: t he absence of t r ul y negat i ve i mages. The count r y' s

pr obl ems, among t hem pover t y ( see Ram r ez, t hi s vol ume) , r ampant cor r upt i on

at al l l evel s of gover nment , and above al l a conf l i ct t hat has l ast ed hal f a

cent ur y, ar e vi t al el ement s of t hi s cont ext . I ar gue t hat t he manner i n whi ch

i ndi genous Col ombi ans appear i n t he pr ess, r angi ng f r om neut r al t o posi t i ve

and t hough of t en r omant i c or st er eotypi cal , i s at t i mes a means of cr i t i qui ng

noni ndi genous Col ombi an soci et y, i n par t i cul ar t he var i ous l oci of power and

aut hori t y where so many deci si ons har mf ul t o t he count r y are made. I n thi s

r espect mai nst r eam Col ombi an medi a cont i nue a t r adi t i on t hat hear kens back t o

Mont ai gne' s and Rousseau' s enl i st ment of New Wor l d i nhabi t ant s i n t hese

phi l osopher s' ef f or t s t o cr i t i que the Eur opean soci et y of t hei r r especti ve

er as. My f i ndi ngs f i t wi t hi n t hi s vol ume' s br oader ar gument , t hat

const r uct i ons of Amazoni an i ndi genous peopl es, whether as nobl y savage or

i gnobl y savage, emer ge out of speci f i c hi st or i cal cont exts and cannot be

under st ood i n i sol at i on f r om t hem.

To be i ncl uded i n t he cor pus bei ng anal yzed, an ar t i cl e had t o ei t her

be about Amazoni an puebl os or ment i on some var i ant of t he word "Amazon. " 1 I

di d not i ncl ude ar t i cl es about el ect i ons whose r ef erence to the Amazon si mpl y

consi st s of l i st i ng candi dat es f r om t he r egi on. Al so not i ncl uded wer e

ar t i cl es about puebl os i n ot her par t s of t he count r y i l l ust r at ed wi t h

photogr aphs of i ndi genous Amazoni ans, a f r equent l y occur r i ng pr act i ce.

Col ombi a' s pol i t i co- admi ni st r at i ve uni t s ( cal l ed depar t ment s) do not

corr espond t o Amazoni a' s boundar i es: Amazoni an t err i t ory i s f ound i n t he


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depar t ment s of Amazonas, Put umayo, Caquet , Guavi are, and Vaups, but onl y

Amazonas consi st s ent i r el y of l owl and t r opi cal f or est ( bel ow 500 meter s) t hat

dr ai ns i nt o t he Amazon Ri ver and i t s t r i but ari es. Col ombi a' s Amazoni a f orms

35 percent of t he nat i onal t er r i t ory and 5. 5 percent of t he Amazon basi n. 2

There ar e sever al ways of def i ni ng Amazoni an Col ombi a; Ram r ez' s chapt er i n

t hi s vol ume pr ovi des an al t ernat i ve scheme.

My more comprehensi ve proj ect f ound t hr ee over l appi ng cat egor i es t hat

r ecei ve extensi ve ot heri ng i n t he t wo newspapers i n addi t i on t o Amazoni an

nat i ves. The f i r st i s cer t ai n Col ombi an puebl os l ocat ed i n ot her r egi ons of

t he count r y: t he f ormer l y nomadi c gr oups i n t he east er n pl ai ns ( l l anos) i n

t he Or i noco cat chment area; puebl os i n t he Si err a Nevada de Sant a Mart a i n

t he nor t h of t he count r y; t he Wayu' u of t he Guaj i r a peni nsul a i n t he

nor t heast ; and the Ember and Waunan i n the Paci f i c r egi on. Second,

depi ct i ons of i ndi genous women cont ai n f ar more ot heri ng t han i s t he case f or

men. The t hi r d cat egory consi st s of photogr aphs t hat cont ai n a f ar great er

degr ee of other i ng t han t he t ext s t hey accompany. Qui t e of t en an edi t or has

st uck i n a photogr aph f r omt he newspaper' s ar chi ves t hat has no connect i on t o

t he ar t i cl e' s subj ect mat t er ( apart f r omt he common t heme of i ndi genei t y).

For exampl e, an i ndi genous woman br east - f eedi ng a baby i l l ust r ates an ar t i cl e

about guer r i l l a st r at egi es f or r ecrui t i ng i ndi genous yout h. 3 Somet i mes even

t he capt i on has no rel at i on t o t he photogr aph. Such photogr aphs are excel l ent

exampl es of what Shi - Xu ( 1997) t er ms " f ossi l i zi ng, " f or t hey cl earl y have

been chosen f or t hei r exot i c, of t en sexual i zed nat ur e. As expect ed,

phot ogr aphs of i ndi genous Amazoni an women reveal t he gr eatest amount of

ot her i ng.

The chapt er proceeds as f ol l ows: af t er a br i ef over vi ew of t he

si t uat i on of Col ombi a' s i ndi genous i nhabi t ant s, f our of t he most f r equent l y

occur r i ng t hemes i n the newspapers' t r eat ment of i ndi genous Col ombi a as a

whol e ar e br i ef l y di scussed: t he envi r onment , l essons t o be l ear ned, t he

conf l i ct , and gender . Thi s cont ext ual i zi ng sect i on i s f ol l owed by a mor e i n-

dept h anal ysi s of t hese t hemes as t hey appear i n art i cl es about i ndi genous

Amazoni a. Di scussi on and concl usi ons f ol l ow.

Backgr ound

Col ombi a' s i ndi genous peopl e f or m ni net y- f our di st i nct puebl os and speak

si xty- f our di f f er ent l anguages. The 2005 nat i onal census gi ves a f i gur e of

1, 378, 884 nat i ves, appr oxi mat el y 3. 4 per cent of t he t ot al popul at i on of about

f or t y- f our mi l l i on (Mel t zer , Roj as, and Camacho 2005: 15) . 4


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Li vi ng i n except i onal l y di ver se habi t at s ( mount ai ns, deser t s, vast

pl ai ns, and t r opi cal f or est s) , Col ombi a' s i ndi genous peopl e have al ways been

ext r emel y mar gi nal i zed soci al l y, pol i t i cal l y, and economi cal l y. I ndependence

f r omSpai n usher ed i n an i deol ogy of nat i on bui l di ng, whi ch r equi r ed f or gi ng

a si ngl e nat i onal i dent i t y, a pr ocess t hat woul d event ual l y pr oduce a

homogeneous Spani sh- speaki ng, Cathol i c, pat r i ot i c ci t i zenr y. As i n ot her

Lat i n Amer i can count r i es, t he Col ombi an st ate espoused pol i ci es of

i ndi geni smo, whi ch worked t o i ncorpor ate t he nat i on' s puebl os i nt o t he

gener al popul at i on t hr ough r aci al mi xi ng and cul t ur al assi mi l at i on.

I ndi genous communal l andhol di ng was especi al l y i ni mi cal t o t he l i beral

nat i on- bui l di ng pr oj ect , and l egi sl at i on i nt ended t o di smant l e t he Cr own-

est abl i shed r eservat i ons ( r esguardos) was pr oposed. However , Law 89 of 1890

r ecogni zed t he of f i ci al st at us of t he col l ect i vel y owned r esguar do and

l egal i zed t he cabi l dos, t he counci l s of r espect ed aut hor i t i es t hat gover n t he

communi t i es. Al t hough the l aw' s l anguage was pat r oni zi ng, part i ci pant s who

mobi l i zed dur i ng the 1970s and 1980s came to appr eci ate t he l aw' s val ue i n

t he st r uggl e t o r ecl ai m communal t er r i t ory. I n 1988 Decree 2001 def i ned t he

r esguar do as a speci al ki nd of l egal and soci opol i t i cal i nst i t ut i on f or med by

an i ndi genous communi t y or ent i r e i ndi genous et hni c group (see Ram r ez 2002) .

The 1991 Const i t ut i on even mor e def i ni t i vel y r ecogni zes t he cabi l do as an

i ndi genous communi t y' s gover ni ng aut hori t y, i n accordance wi t h i t s usos y

cost umbr es ( pr act i ces and cust oms) , and r ecogni zes t he resguar do as a

puebl o' s communal l y owned t err i t ory.

The dr i ve f or const i t ut i onal r ef or m i n Col ombi a ar ose f r om awar eness

t hat t he cur r ent soci al order , i n whi ch access t o t he government was gai ned

excl usi vel y t hr ough pol i t i cal par t i es ( al l ot her at t empt s bei ng i gnor ed or

t r eat ed as subver si on) , coul d not adequatel y r espond t o changi ng soci al

condi t i ons ( Van Cot t 2000: 6389) . The pol i t i cal and moral cr i si s r esul t i ng

f r om t he f or t y- year - l ong i nsur gency, t he i ncrease i n vi ol ence as l andowner s

and secur i t y f or ces at t empt ed t o st amp i t out , and a per vasi ve di st r ust of a

deepl y corr upt st ate cont r ol l ed by the ol i garchy al so st r engt hened argument s

pr omot i ng const i t ut i onal r ef or m ( see Assi es 2000: 3) . 5

I ndi genous pol i t i cal mobi l i zi ng dur i ng t he 1960s and 1970s, whi ch

occur r ed mai nl y i n Andean ar eas, event ual l y succeeded i n get t i ng the

government t o recogni ze t he regi onal i ndi genous organi zat i ons t hat had ar i sen

dur i ng t hi s t i me ( J i meno and Tr i ana 1985) . The Nat i onal Or gani zat i on of

I ndi genous Col ombi ans ( Or gani zaci n Naci onal I nd gena de Col ombi a,

oni c) , f ounded i n 1982, was al so r ecogni zed. Largel y due t o pr essure


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f r omt hese or gani zati ons and t hei r noni ndi genous al l i es dur i ng t he 1980s, t he

government st epped up i t s progr am of cr eat i ng new r esguardos as part of a

l and r ef or m t hat began i n 1961. As of 2001 t he count r y' s puebl os col l ect i vel y

and i nal i enabl y owned 30, 845, 231 f ul l y demarcat ed hect ares ( one hect are

equal s 2. 47 acres) , const i t ut i ng 27 per cent of t he nat i onal t er r i t or y (Ar ango

and Snchez 2004: 50) . Ei ght y- f i ve percent of t hese l ands are l ocat ed i n t he

count r y' s pl ai ns and t r opi cal f or est . The two l ar gest r esguar dos ar e i n

Amazoni a. As of 2001 appr oxi matel y 65 percent of t he count r y' s i ndi genous

popul at i on l i ved i n new r esguardos ( t hose cr eat ed f r om1961 on) , and 22

per cent l i ved i n ol der r esguar dos, some of t hemest abl i shed i n t he col oni al

per i od ( Ar ango and Snchez 2004: 104) . Accor di ng t o the economi st 1001

The new Const i t ut i on changed t he st atus of puebl o members f r om t hat of

mi nor i t i es wi t hout f ul l ci t i zenshi p t o col l ect i vi t i es wi t h f ul l r i ght s as

ci t i zens and speci al r i ght s as di st i nct peopl es. I ndi genous l eader s'

i nf l uence dur i ng t he dr af t i ng of t he Const i t ut i on was f ar gr eat er t han t he

demogr aphi cs woul d suggest ( see Gr os 2000; J i meno Sant oyo 1996; Laur ent 2005;

Rol dn 1997) . The r ef orms' ori gi nal agendas had not i ncl uded benef i t i ng t he

count r y' s mi nor i t i es, but dur i ng t he del i ber at i ons sever al pol i t i cal

i nt erest s, not j ust i ndi genous and Af r o- Col ombi an, r eal i zed t hat advocat i ng

pl ur al i sm woul d br i ng t hem cl oser t o thei r own goal s. I ndi genous del egat es t o

t he Preconst i t ut i onal Assembl y seemed t o embody t he hope t he count r y' s

ci t i zens were al l owi ng t hemsel ves t o expr ess, f or an al most euphor i c mood was

i n t he ai r dur i ng t he ear l y 1990s. The i ndi genous del egat es' near cel ebr i t y

st at us cl ear l y was a f act or i n t he medi a' s over al l f avor abl e t r eat ment of t he

count r y' s i ndi genous peopl e dur i ng t hat per i od and subsequent l y.

Car l os

Ossa Escobar , t hi s "s i l ent r evol ut i on, " whi ch r esul t ed i n puebl os owni ng

3, 250, 000 hect ares more t han t he st ate ( as of 1996) , r ef l ect s a gover nment

pol i cy i nt ended t o, f i r st , r et ur n t hese l ands t o t hei r ancest r al owner s,

hel pi ng to aver t a pat t er n of ever - i ncreasi ng concent r at i on of l and, and,

second, put t he l and i nt o hands t hat woul d best pr eser ve t he f orest ed areas

and the envi r onment i n general ( quot ed i n I nd genas vuel ven a ser dueos de

l a t i er r a, El Espectador , J ul y 12, 1998) .

Despi t e these and ot her si gni f i cant gai ns over t he past t hi r t y year s,

Col ombi an puebl os cont i nue t o f ace daunt i ng chal l enges. I n addi t i on t o t he

ongoi ng st r uggl e f or sel f - det er mi nat i on, aut onomy, and j ust i ce, many

communi t i es ar e subj ect ed t o ser i ous r epr essi on f r omar med act or s, l egal and

1001AU: without an article, this is considered a false title, as opposed to a true title such as President Jones, Professor

Smith fine.


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i l l egal , oper at i ng i n many ar eas of t he count r y: t wo guer r i l l a ar mi es ( t he

Revol ut i onary Ar med Forces of Col ombi a, f ar c, and t he Nat i onal

Li ber at i on Ar my) , par ami l i t ar i es, and publ i c secur i t y f or ces ( t he ar my and

nat i onal pol i ce; see Hunt 2006: 98107) . Col ombi a' s guerr i l l a armi es have

at best t ol erated i ndi genous ai ms and at wors t assassi nated many i ndi vi dual s,

l eader s i n par t i cul ar . Unf or t unat el y per pet r at or s of cri mes benef i t f r om a

j ust i ce syst em est i mat ed t o have a 95 percent i mpuni t y r at e ( Agui l er a1002

Pea

2001: 422, ci t ed i n Hunt 2006: 100) . Col ombi a' s i nt er nal l y di spl aced ci t i zens

exceed t hr ee mi l l i on ( Amnest y I nt ernat i onal 2004: 21, ci t ed i n Hunt 2006: 109) .

Over vi ew of t he Four Themes Thr oughout Col ombi a/ A>1003

The background j ust sket ched suggest s some of t he r easons why medi a t r eat ment

of Col ombi an I ndi ans evol ved t he way i t di d i n 19882006. I now present a

br i ef nat i onwi de overvi ew of t he f our t hemes ( whi ch over l ap somewhat ) t hat

appear ed wi t h r egul ar i t y i n ar t i cl es publ i shed dur i ng t hi s per i od:

envi r onment al i sm, l essons t o be l earned, t he conf l i ct , and gender . ( Ot her

t opi cs i ncl ude pol i t i cs, educat i on, ar t s and craf t s, r el i gi on and t r adi t i onal

cul t ur e, i ndi genous l anguages, and t our i sm. ) These f our t hemes were chosen

because t hey pr ovi de t he most usef ul cl ues f or underst andi ng t he overal l

neut r al t o posi t i ve t one of t he ot her i ng t hat appear s.

Envi r onment al i sm

Dur i ng t he 1990s and the begi nni ng of t he new mi l l enni um t he nat i onal pr ess

r egul arl y di scussed the i mport ant l i nks between Col ombi a' s puebl os and t he

need t o saf eguard t he envi r onment . For exampl e, one ar t i cl e descr i bes how

much "greener " i ndi genous phi l osophy and pr act i ce are when compar ed t o t he

West ' s. I n a col umn t i t l ed "Fear of t he I ndi an, " Mi guel Bor j a wr i t es,

" I ndi genous model s f or usi ng and conser vi ng the more t han 25 percent of t he

nat i onal t er r i t or y, and t hei r knowl edge of Nat ur e, ecol ogy and bi odi ver si t y,

ar e of gr eat val ue t o t he count r y. " 6 An ar t i cl e i n El Ti empo ( Uni ver si dad

I nd gena, J ul y 11, 1997) st at es t hat "al l sect or s of soci et y" have

envi r onment al and ecol ogi cal pr eoccupat i ons and t hat "ext r emel y vari ed ki nds

of damage occur dai l y wi t h respect t o pr oper and normal mai nt enance of t he

nat i on' s envi r onment . " Ever yone, t heref ore, shoul d be support i ng a pr oposed

1002AU: spelled Aguilera in refs; please correct throughout done.1003AU: I suggest that this paragraph isnt an analysis of the material that preceded it, and instead lists the themesyou discuss next. Instead of a separate head, please consider simply making this the last paragraph in the section. I dont say what

you say I say. I say that the preceding i ndi cat es some of t he r easons why medi a t r eat ment ofCol ombi an I ndi ans evol ved t he way i t di d i n 19882006, whi ch i s not an anal ysi s.


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pr oj ect t o creat e "a ki nd of I ndi genous Uni ver si t y" t hat wi l l devel op a

speci f i c way to tr ai n I ndi ans "as speci al i st s i n t he pr ot ecti on of t he

envi r onment , i n t he def ense of t hei r habi t at. " Obvi ousl y t he I ndi ans ar e t he

ones t o do t hi s " pr i mor di al t ask, " because t hey "ar e so str i ct l y associ at ed

wi t h t hei r envi r onment . "

Lessons t o Be Lear ned

The exampl es above i l l ust r at e how i ndi genous val ues and cosmovi si on provi de

gui del i nes f or saf eguar di ng t he envi r onment , gui del i nes t hat al l of t he

count r y' s ci t i zens woul d do wel l t o f ol l ow. Ar t i cl es about ot her t opi cs al so

f eature t hi s "l essons t o be l ear ned" t heme. An edi t or i al t i t l ed "Ar qu medes

Vi t ons: Symbol of t he Year " pr ai ses t he achi evement s of t hi s Nasa l eader,

who was decl ar ed "Mast er of Knowl edge" by unesco i n 2004. The

edi t or i al pr ai ses Nasa or gani zati ons' "di r ect democr acy" and "t he admi r abl e

communi t y i ndependence" t hat r eveal s t he Nasa communi t y' s cohesi on and

"col l ect i ve et hi cs i n t hei r conf r ont at i ons wi t h t he ar med conf l i ct . " The Nasa

cl ear l y of f er "not a f ew l essons and chal l enges . . . t o t he mar ked

i ndi vi dual i sm char act er i st i c of our soci et y" ( Ar qu medes Vi t ons: S mbol o

del ao, El Ti empo, December 19, 2004) . Another j our nal i st wr i t es that

i ndi genous peopl e ar e "known f or t hei r st r ong sense of i dent i t y and f or bei ng

car r i er s of a shar p knowl edge of t hei r di ver si t y. " 7 Ot her ar t i c l es l i nk the

f at e of Col ombi a' s puebl os mor e di r ect l y t o t he count r y' s f ut ur e. Her e i s one

di scussi ng t he sl ow pr ogr ess i n l egi sl at i ng t he 1991 Const i t ut i on- mandat ed

"i ndi genous t er r i t or i al ent i t i es, " a ki nd of col l ecti ve l and t enur e t hat

appl i es excl usi vel y to puebl o l andhol di ngs: " I ndi genous t er r i t or i es deser ve

much more at t ent i on, as does t he demand f or decent r al i zat i on i n general .

Col ombi a cannot put t he success of t hi s process at r i sk, upon whi ch, t o a

gr eat extent , depend peace and nat i onal r econci l i at i on" ( El Espect ador ,

J anuar y 10, 1994) . An ar t i cl e about a Bogot- based meet i ng of i ndi genous

peopl es f r om var i ous count r i es comment s, "Col ombi a ought t o wel come t he

del egates to such an i mport ant encount er and wi sh f or al l possi bl e success.

I t i s t o be hoped t hat t hei r mi l l enari an val ues and knowl edge woul d not onl y

be respect ed, but wi l l be taken i nt o account i n f aci ng a f ut ur e t hat bel ongs

t o al l of us" ( Encuent r o i nd gena, El Espect ador , J anuar y 21, 1999) .

Anot her ar t i cl e st at es t hat "[ i ndi genous] t er r i t or y i s nat ur e" and t hat

def endi ng nat ur e has r esul t ed i n I ndi ans f i ndi ng themsel ves " i n the mi ddl e of

most i nt er cul t ur al conf l i ct s, t r yi ng t o st op devel opment pr oj ect s i n t he

count r y" ( El t er r i t or i o i nd gena es l a nat ur al eza, El Espectador , J ul y 2,


9/34

1997) . However , gr oups t hat have recent l y desi gnat ed t hemsel ves i ndi genous

can r ecei ve qui t e cr i t i cal t r eat ment because t hey ar e not t aken seri ousl y.

One ar t i cl e st ates t hat , al t hough a gr oup says i t s members ar e descended f r om

t he Mui sca, a l ong- di sappear ed puebl o, t hei r physi cal appear ance shows t hem

t o be "wi se guys" ( avi vat os) r at her t han i nd genas pur os. "I ncredi bl y, " i t

cont i nues, t hi s gr oup r ecei ved t r ansf er ences f r om t he stat e "as i f t hey wer e

a real , l egal l y recogni zed r esguar do" ( Resguar do de avi vat os, El Ti empo,

December 11, 2001) .

The Conf l i ct

One woul d expect sympathet i c coverage of t he pl i ght of t he nat i on' s puebl os

i n so vi ol ent a count r y, and one f i nds i t . Ser i ous r epr essi on has been t he

nor m i n many l ocat i ons. Puebl os ar e regul ar l y descr i bed as caught i n t he

cross- f i re. 8 One ar t i cl e r ef er s t o t hem as a col chn de resor t e (spri ng

mat t r ess) , "pr i mordi al vi ct i ms of t he r epr essi ve campai gns of t he Ar my, whi ch

of t en l abel s t hem ' col l abor at or s wi t h t he guer r i l l a" ( La pol t i ca

i nd gena, un aci er t o, El Espect ador , J ul y 27, 1988) . Puebl os are especi al l y

t argeted because t hey are i n r ur al areas and because t hey are i n st r ategi c

par t s of t he count r y, ar eas wor t h f i ght i ng over because, f or exampl e, t hey

cont ai n cor r i dor s f or drug or weapons t r af f i cki ng. Al so, i sol at i on and

i naccessi bi l i t y char act er i ze some puebl o l ocat i ons, whi ch can at t r act

nar cot r af f i ckers, and many puebl o t er r i t or i es have i mpor t ant nat ur al

r esour ces such as mi ner al s and oi l or are t ar geted f or l ar ge- scal e

devel opment , l i ke t he huge Ur r hydr oel ect r i c pr oj ect t hat f l ooded Ember-

Kat o l ands i n t he nor t hwest of t he count r y. Puebl os ar e poor and f or t hi s

r eason are somet i mes suspect ed of havi ng l ef t i st l eani ngs, and t he puebl os'

st ance agai nst al l ar med actors i n t hei r t er r i t or i es, i ncl udi ng t he ar my, i s

accept abl e t o none of t hese gr oups ( oni c 2002) . Puebl os char act er i ze

t hei r posi t i on i n t erms of aut onomy r at her t han neut r al i t y, f or t hey want t o

be seen as r eady t o def end t hei r communi t i es rat her t han as passi vel y

neut r al . Puebl os have thought l ong and hard about r esi st ance: Avel i na Pancha,

a member of oni c, r emi nds a r epor t er t hat Col ombi an puebl os draw on

ampl e exper i ence r esi st i ng armed act ors: "We have been r esi st i ng f or f i ve

hundr ed years" ( I nd genas no darn ni un paso at r s, El Ti empo, J ul y 26,

2002) . I n t he same ar t i cl e a Cathol i c mi ssi onary i n one communi t y voi ces t he

same i dea: "Thi s [ r esi st ance] i sn' t agai nst onl y t he guer r i l l a, r at her ,

[ puebl os] ar e pr ot est i ng what ever f or m t he vi ol ence t akes. "


10/34

Al t hough i ndi genous pr otest s ( f or exampl e, l arge demonst r at i ons agai nst

f r ee tr ade agr eement s) do not al ways el i ci t pr ai se i n t he pr ess ( especi al l y

when t he Pan- Amer i can Hi ghway i s bl ockaded, whi ch peri odi cal l y occur s) ,

unarmed conf r ont at i ons wi t h armed actors al ways i nspi r e f avorabl e wr i t e- ups.

Whet her t he act i on i s a mass demonst r at i on, t he takeover of a government

of f i ce, or a conf r ont at i on wi t h f ar c, i ndi genous par t i ci pant s wi l l

be unarmed. Fol l owi ng t he demobi l i zat i on i n 1990 of an i ndi genous guerr i l l a

organi zat i on known as Qui nt n Lame, t he Andean Nasa ( al so known as Pez)

r esol ved t o oppose t he pr esence of al l armed act or s i n t hei r t er r i t or y. 9

Begi nni ng i n t he l ate 1990s t hey devel oped a campai gn of paci f i c ci vi l

r esi st ance, organi zi ng an I ndi genous Guard ( guar di a i nd gena) whose members

are unarmed, save f or cer emoni al st af f s. 10 The Guar d cur r ent l y number s about

seven t housand men and women ( see Rappapor t 20031004) . I f f ar c warns a

communi t y that any ki nd of ci vi l r esi st ance- - f or exampl e, i gnor i ng i t s

commands- - wi l l not be t ol erat ed, t he r esponse of cabi l do aut hor i t i es mi ght

consi st of j ust t hat , even i f br ut al r epr essi on f ol l ows. A number of ar t i cl es

di scuss i nst ances when member s of several Nasa communi t i es have conf r ont ed

armed act ors wi t h f i r m, uni t ed act i ons. I n 2001, when f arc began

f i r i ng homemade mort ars on a pol i ce st at i on i n t he Nasa communi t y of Tor i b o,

more t han f our t housand unar med communi t y member s f l ooded i t s st r eets, endi ng

t he at t ack ( Rappaport 2003: 41) . On another occasi on a l arge cont i ngent of

communi t y members t r avel ed t o a guerr i l l a st r onghol d to obt ai n rel ease of a

ki dnapped l eader ( I nd genas rescat an su al cal de, El Ti empo, Apr i l 14,

2003) . Thi s abi l i t y t o ar r i ve at a consensus and f or ge a col l ect i ve wi l l t o

act i n t he f ace of gr eat danger has occasi oned l audat ory comment ar i es i n t he

medi a, chur ch ser mons, school l essons, and everyday conver sat i ons, as does

puebl o member s' obvi ous r espect f or l eader s and t r adi t i onal aut hori t i es. An

exampl e i s t he i nt erest di spl ayed when governor s of f our t een i ndi genous

cabi l dos i n nor t hern Cauca r ecei ved t he Nat i onal Peace Pr i ze f or t hei r

Pr oyect o nasa1005

Ar t i cl es about t he conf l i ct of t en i ncl ude cr i t i ques of t he Col ombi an

gover nment or West ern ci vi l i zati on, a t ype of " l esson to be l ear ned. " One

j ournal i st descr i bes i ndi genous prot est s as " begi nni ng a movement t hat coul d

, a coal i t i on worki ng t o mai nt ai n communi t y

neut r al i t y and aut onomy i n t he f ace of t hreat s by armed combat ant s ( Ms que

neut r al es, aut nomos, El Espect ador , December 12, 2000) .

1004AU: 2005 in refs; please correct throughout new citation added.1005AU: should Nasa be in small caps throughout, as it is here? I dont understand why Nasa is sc here. It is the

name of a pueblo, like Iroquois.


11/34

change the di r ect i on of t he war. . . . I ndi genous communi t i es seem t o br i ng

t oget her t he condi t i ons t hat t he r est of t he count r y seeks i n vai n"

( I nd genas no dar n ni un paso at r s, El Ti empo, J ul y 26, 2002) .

Noni ndi genous comment ators bel i eve t hat successf ul i ndi genous or gani zi ng i s

key, as wel l as puebl os' "st r ong i dent i f i cat i on wi t h somet hi ng, be i t l and,

cul t ur e or a soci al or pol i t i cal pr oj ect. . . . ' We' r e al l owner s of t he

i ndi genous pr oj ect . . . . I ndi genous r esi st ance doesn' t consi st of a show

of f or ce, but , r at her, demonst r at i ng cohesi on" ( I nd genas no dar n ni un

paso at r s; al so see Espi nosa 1998, Rappaport 2005) . Puebl os' st r uggl es ar e

descr i bed as r ecl ai mi ng " r espect f or l i f e and coexi st ence" ( I nd genas no

dar n ni un paso at r s) . An edi t or i al st at es t hat Nasa symbol i zes t wo thi ngs

t hat ar e seri ousl y l acki ng i n Col ombi a, whi ch coul d " dr ast i cal l y change t he

equat i on of t hi s unendi ng war t hat bl eeds t he count r y: organi zat i on and

i ndependence. I ndi genous power i s synthesi zed i n t hese. " The year 2004 i n

par t i cul ar of f er ed t he count r y "mor e than suf f i ci ent " demonst r at i ons of t hi s

power t o convi nce Col ombi ans t o t ake t hese l essons t o hear t ( Arqu medes

Vi t ons: S mbol o del ao, El Ti empo, December 19, 2004) . There i s even an

ar t i cl e about i ndi genous women' s r esponse to t he vi ol ence ( ar t i cl es f eat ur i ng

i ndi genous women are ver y r are) . Thi s one descr i bes how t he women of one

communi t y ar e or gani zi ng " f or aut onomy and peace" ( Las i nd genas, cont r a l a

vi ol enci a, El Ti empo, J ul y 5, 2005) . These i ndi genous r esponses, and the

medi a' s r eport s about t hem, r esonate wi t h Ram r ez' s di scussi on ( t hi s vol ume)

of "per ver se" and "product i ve" soci al capi t al . We see pr oduct i ve soci al

capi t al bei ng cr eat ed when i ndi genous communi t i es nonvi ol ent l y resi st t he

"per ver se" capi t al t hat i s so easi l y gener at ed i n "an i nst i t ut i onal

envi r onment t hat f avors opport uni st and cr i mi nal behavi ors" ( Rubi o 1997: 805,

ci t ed i n Ram r ez, t hi s vol ume) . Such perver se i l l i ci t economi es pr omot e the

abuses per pet r at ed on puebl os by bot h l egal and i l l egal armed combatant s.

Gender

Wi t h r espect t o t he at t ent i on i ndi genous women r ecei ve i n t hese newspapers,

one woul d not concl ude that t hey const i t ut e 50 percent of t he nat i ve

popul at i on, f or t hey appear ver y sel dom i n t he t ext s t hemsel ves. Thi s i s

especi al l y tr ue f or t he f i r st year s of t he per i od under exami nat i on. The

r at i o of women s appearance i n phot ogr aphs as compar ed t o t ext i s much hi gher

t han t he rat i o f or men. I ndi genous women appear i ng i n t ext s or phot ogr aphs

ver y rarel y speak f or t hemsel ves. I nst ances of or i ent al i zi ng and nat ur al i zi ng

women i n pat r oni zi ng ways are especi al l y f ound i n human i nt erest st ori es.


12/34

Depi ct i ons of i ndi genous women i n these t wo newspaper s, I woul d ar gue, are

i nt ended t o ent ert ai n ( as opposed t o i nf orm) f ar more t han are depi ct i ons of

i ndi genous men. Despi t e what must be a subst ant i al number of f emal e r eaders,

t he t wo newspapers are cl ear l y ori ent ed t o a mal e audi ence, r esul t i ng i n

Col ombi a' s i ndi genous women and ot her mi nor i t y women ( e. g. , Af r o- Col ombi ans)

bei ng doubl y er ased and "mal e- gazed" i nt o what i s at t i mes a parody of

t hemsel ves.

We shoul d pr obabl y l ook t o gender r el at i ons i n Col ombi a i n general , and

wi t hi n i t s i ndi genous communi t i es i n par t i cul ar, t o expl ai n t hese gender ed

di f f er ences r at her t han l ay most of t he bl ame at t he f eet of bi ased

j ournal i st s and edi t or s. Ar t i cl es about vi ol ence f ocus on men because men ar e

mor e of t en i t s vi ct i ms; so f ar as I have been abl e t o f i nd out , al l

assassi nated i ndi genous l eaders have been men, whi ch i s not surpr i si ng gi ven

t he t r emendous dear t h of i ndi genous women l eader s. 11 An occasi onal ar t i cl e

wi l l ment i on an i ndi genous f emal e l eader but , wi t h one except i on ( see bel ow) ,

not i n Amazoni a. Of cour se, i ndi genous ( and noni ndi genous) women suf f er

t r emendousl y f r om t he conf l i ct , but t hei r suf f er i ng t ends t o be l ess

newswort hy. The pauci t y of i ndi genous f emal e l eaders means t hat st or i es about

i ndi genous l eaders doi ng other newswort hy thi ngs wi l l al so be about men. 12

Anal ysi s of t he Four Themes f or Amazoni a1006

As al r eady noted, f or t he most part t he t wo dai l y newspapers " other"

Amazoni an nat i ves more than puebl os l ocat ed el sewhere. Tour i st s are assur ed

t hey wi l l encount er "r eal " I ndi ans ( i ndi os de ver dad) t her e. 13 The i ndi genous

Amazoni an body, especi al l y i n cer emoni al dr ess, si gnal s a cl ear- cut ,

sat i sf yi ng i ndi genousness t hat l eads edi t or s t o choose phot ogr aphs of

Amazoni ans over , say, a member of t he Andean Guambi ano puebl o i n t r adi t i onal

dr ess. Amazoni an cer emoni al dr ess i s a power f ul si gni f i er t hat r ef er ences t he

Amazon regi on i t sel f and suggest s such themes as t he Pr i mi t i ve, I nnocence,

Harmony wi t h Nat ure, Myst ery and Advent ure. The symbol i c val ue of t he

Amazoni an i ndi genous body i s evi dent f r om t he f r equency wi t h whi ch

photogr aphs of Amazoni ans ar e used t o i l l ust r ate ar t i cl es about non- Amazoni an

t opi cs. For exampl e, a photogr aph accompanyi ng an ar t i cl e about t he openi ng

of a phot ogr aphy exhi bi t i on on " I ndi genous Col ombi a" i n downtown Bogot shows

a shi r t l ess, el der l y i ndi genous Amazoni an man usi ng a t r adi t i onal i mpl ement

t o scoop powdered coca l eaf i nt o hi s mout h. The capt i on r eads, "An Amazoni an

1006AU: should this be a B head under the Gender A head? No. And please confirm all head levels throughout done.


13/34

shaman i n communi cat i on wi t h t he hi gher spi r i t s" ( El Espect ador , Apr i l 14,

1994) . An ar t i cl e t i t l ed "Whi t es: Respect I ndi an J ust i ce, " about i ndi genous

j ur i sdi ct i on, i s i l l ust r at ed by a bare- chest ed Amazoni an I ndi an wi t h a

f eather cr own. A l arge phot ogr aph of an Amazoni an man i n a f eat her ed cr own,

l oi ncl ot h, and j aguar - t eet h neckl ace i s the i ni t i al i l l ustr at i on f or an

ar t i cl e about r aci sm t hr oughout t he count r y (12 de oct ubr e, D a de l a Raza,

El Espect ador , Oct ober 12, 1997) . We do not know f or sur e what such

phot ogr aphs ar e i nt ended t o communi cate, nor how t hei r message i s i n f act

r ecei ved by readers , yet we can concl ude that al t hough a si gni f i cant degr ee

of ot her i ng i s appar ent , t hese ar e not st r ai ght f orwar d i nst ances of symbol i c

vi ol ence. However, as Chaves' s chapt er i n t hi s vol ume descr i bes, such exot i c

i magery can prevent member s of communi t i es t hat no l onger use such si gnal i ng

devi ces f r om bei ng consi der ed " r eal l y" ( de ver dad) i ndi genous peopl e. I f t hey

r espond t o di spar agi ng comment s about t hei r aut hent i ci t y by r ei ndi geni zi ng,

and t hi s i s t hei r sol e mot i vat i on, we have an exampl e of sel f - or i ent al i zi ng.

Whi l e Chaves ( 2005) has demonst r at ed t hat such enact ment s can be

per f ormat i ve, put t i ng i nt o pl ay a much more pr of ound r ei ndi geni zi ng pr ocess,

i n some cases pet i t i oners are deni ed r ecogni t i on because t hey do not l ook or

act t he part ( f or a non- Amazoni an case, see J ackson and Ram r ez 20091007

The adopt i on of a f avorabl e t one t oward t he nat i on' s puebl os by

Col ombi a' s nat i onal dai l y newspapers began i n earnest wi t h t he cover age of

Pr esi dent Vi r gi l i o Bar co' s 1988 t r i p t o La Chor r er a i n t he depart ment of

Amazonas t o hand over more t han f i ve mi l l i on hect ares t o t he r egi on' s

puebl os. The ar t i cl es' posi t i ve t one cl ear l y f ol l ows t he l ead of t he chi ef of

st at e; f or exampl e, Barco addr esses t he hundr eds of assembl ed peopl e i n t he

Hui t oto ( al so spel l ed Ui t oto and Wi t oto) l anguage: "Good morni ng, we ar e wi t h

you and we ar e here to gi ve you your l ands. " 14

) .

Barco' s speech t o the crowd empl oys a r hetor i c st r essi ng t he val ue of

Amazoni an i ndi genous ci t i zens' cont r i but i ons t o nat i on bui l di ng. The r epor t er

comment s, "The Head of St ate i ndi cat ed t hat Col ombi ans need t o r eval ue t he

i mage t hat we have of Amer i ndi an peopl es, and t he government proposes t o

i nf or m ever yone about t hei r t r ue val ue, as wel l as t hei r cont r i but i ons t o t he

f or mat i on of our nat i onal i t y. " Upon depar t i ng Barco sai d, "Her e ar e your

l ands, bel oved compatr i ot s. Cont i nue l ovi ng t hemand taki ng car e of t hem as

you have unt i l now . . . because onl y you know i t s secr et s, i t s gener osi t i es,

i t s weaknesses and i t s most subt l e at t i t udes. " 15 El Ti empo cover s t he occasi on

1007AU: in place of n.d., please cite year of draft you read..done.


14/34

i n a si mi l ar manner , wi t h one ar t i cl e concl udi ng, "Fi nal l y, af t er an

i ncessant f i ght , t hese communi t i es achi eved an act of j ust i ce t hat wi l l

r edeem t he most vi t al component needed f or t hei r survi val i n t he enormous

Amazon. . . . Li ke a dr eam come t r ue, t hose who were sl aves wi l l have enough

l and t o wor k" ( De escl avos a pr opi et ar i os de t i er r a, Apr i l 9, 1988) .

I nt er est i ngl y t he ar t i cl e i n El Espect ador descri bes I ndi ans hol di ng pl acar ds

t hat r ead "Handi ng over what one owes i s not generosi t y, i t i s scarcel y doi ng

what must be done. "

The posi t i ve t one of t hese ar t i cl es by no means i ndi cat es an absence of

ot her i ng, an exampl e bei ng t he descr i pt i on of Bar co as t he f i r st pr esi dent

who vi si t ed i nd genas i ncrust ados ( encrust ed, i nl ai d) i n t he j ungl e. 16 A

photogr aph of t he pr esi dent and hi s wi f e i n f eat her cr owns i s capt i oned

"I ndi genous Pr esi dent . " 17

Ar t i cl es i n t he two newspapers on Amazoni an t opi cs t hat mi ght

r easonabl y war r ant a somewhat negat i ve t one ei t her are not negat i ve or are so

onl y i ndi r ect l y, t hr ough cr i t i ci sm voi ced by someone i n t he st or y. For

exampl e, several ar t i cl es ment i on saneami ent o ( et hni c cl eansi ng) of

r esguar dos, whi ch i nvol ves r el ocat i on of noni ndi genous r esi dent s, usual l y

poor col onos ( set t l er s) . A 1988 ar t i cl e si mpl y ment i ons t hat t he saneami ent o

of noni ndi genous i nhabi t ant s f r om t he new Predi o Putumayo resguardo must

occur wi t hi n si x mont hs. 18 None of t hese ar t i cl es cont ai ns any hi nt of

sympat hy f or t he pl i ght of t hese col onos.

Nor do ar t i cl es adopt a cri t i cal gaze wi t h r espect t o t he cont r over si al

i ssue of t he "pr ol i f er at i on" of I ndi ans, whi ch r ef er s t o gr oups of

r ei ndi geni zed nat i ves sol i ci t i ng and obt ai ni ng of f i ci al r ecogni t i on of

cabi l dos t hey have r ecent l y f or med. Such sol i ci t at i ons i ncreased especi al l y

af t er Law 60 of 1993 was passed, whi ch enl arges i ndi genous aut hori t i es'

spher e of act i on wi t h r espect t o obt ai ni ng economi c r esour ces f r om t he st at e.

One year af t er t he l aw was passed 80. 4 percent of t he count r y' s r esguardos

pr esent ed pr oj ect s t o be f unded ( Laur ent 2005: 342) . 19 The Put umayo i s t he si t e

of much of t hi s act i vi t y. 20 One ar t i cl e r epor t s t hat t he gover nment of f i ce of

Asunt os I nd genas ( I ndi genous Af f ai r s, r enamed Et ni as, Et hni c Af f ai r s, i n

2003) est i mates t hat about 350 communi t i es t hr oughout t he countr y are seeki ng

r ecogni t i on as abor gi nes. The agency' s di r ect or , Mar cel a Br avo, i s quot ed as

sayi ng cat egor i cal l y, "I ndi genous puebl os t hat di sappear ed bef or e the

Spani ards ar r i ved cannot r eappear now. " 21 Leaders f r om oni c counter ,

"Communi t i es t hat weren' t i ndi genous are now r ecogni zi ng themsel ves as such

because f or 500 years t hey were t ol d that t o be i ndi o was a shame. But t hey


15/34

now r eal i ze t hat t hi s i s not so and t hey ar e r ecover i ng t hei r di gni t y.

Nevert hel ess, t hi s process i s bei ng del egi t i mi zed by the government . " They go

on, "We don' t agr ee that t he Mi ni st r y of t he I nt er i or shoul d be the one to

r ecogni ze who i s and i sn' t i ndi genous. The communi t y ought t o def i ne i t sel f .

What i s r eal l y goi ng on i s a di sput e over r esour ces and l ands. " 22 The onl y

cri t i ci sm i n t he ar t i cl e comes f r om t he mout h of t he Et ni as di r ector. The

cont r ast wi t h t he extr emel y negat i ve t one of t he ar t i cl e about t he wi se

guys ( avi vat os) f al sel y cl ai mi ng Mui sca i dent i t y (see above) coul d not be

st r onger .

I n cases i nvol vi ng cl ear l y r epr ehensi bl e behavi or on t he par t of

i ndi genous pol i t i ci ans and government appoi nt ees ( corr upt i on bei ng the most

f r equent t opi c), cri t i ci sm appear s mai nl y i n quot es f r om f el l ow I ndi ans.

( Note, however , t hat t he wel l - known phr ase mal i ci a i nd gena [ i ndi genous

mal i ce, mi schi ef ] appear s i n one ar t i cl e and i n t he t i t l e of an edi t or i al . ) 23

A st ory i n El Ti empo r epor t s t hat on Sept ember 21, 1994, Maxi mi l i ano Vel oz

was obl i ged t o renounce hi s posi t i on as mayor of Mi t , t he capi t al of t he

Vaups, because a subst ant i al number of i ndi genous "br others, " upset by t he

nonpayment of 150 mi l l i on pesos t he mayor ' s of f i ce owed t he resguardos, t ook

over hi s of f i ce and occupi ed i t unt i l he agr eed t o resi gn. 24

Envi r onmental i sm i n Amazoni a

The t heme of envi r onmental i sm and Amazoni an puebl os appear s i n a maj or way i n

t he newspapers. The not i on of danger posed t o both t he envi r onment and i t s

i nhabi t ant s, who ar e descr i bed as cl osel y l i nked t o thei r sur r oundi ngs,

r ef l ect s t hemes f ound i n medi a t r eat ment s of i ndi genous communi t i es el sewhere

i n the count r y, but i n Amazoni a t he connect i ons ar e more t i ght l y dr awn.

Set t l ers pose dangers t o the envi r onment , as do f umi gat i on of coca f i el ds and

the conf l i ct .

The f ar - si ghtedness of Col ombi a wi t h r espect t o savi ng both t he Amazon

and i t s i nhabi t ant s i s f eat ur ed i n numer ous art i cl es. Pr esi dent Bar co

descr i bes hi s new pol i cy goal s as r ecogni t i on of t he r i ght s of abor i gi nal

communi t i es and est abl i shment of a " r at i onal , bal anced, and sust ai nabl e

management of nat ural r esour ces, " t o be achi eved by t urni ng over huge swat hs

of t er r i t ory to the members of t hese communi t i es. 251008

1008AU: please confirm: correct Tovar article? Yes, Tovar 1988. I dont understand why reference was deletedit

contains a direct quote.

Anot her ar t i cl e put s a

nat i onal i st i c spi n on Bar co' s pol i cy, descri bi ng i t as a model f or ot her

count r i es. The aut hor, Edgar Cadena, wr i t es t hat t he new r esguardo


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const i t ut es t he l ar gest i ndi genous r eser vat i on i n t he wor l d, br i ngi ng t he

amount of Amazoni an l and "t hat has passed i nt o t he hands of i t s l egi t i mate

owners" t o a total of al most t wel ve mi l l i on hect ares. These achi evement s

demonst r ate t hat "Col ombi a has aut hori t y: i t i s t he most advanced count r y

wi t h r espect t o conservat i on of t he envi r onment , because i t has not had t o

expl oi t t hi s r egi on. The Col ombi an Amazon i s more pr eserved t han other

count r i es' Amazoni an t er r i t or i es. " 26 Barco st ates t hat even pr i or t o handi ng

over t he Pr edi o Put umayo, Col ombi a recei ved " expr essi ons of suppor t and

congr at ul at i ons f r om t he i nt er nat i onal sci ent i f i c communi t y. I consi der . . .

t hat t hi s i nt er nat i onal r ecogni t i on t oday i s even gr eat er due to t he

count r y' s havi ng doubl ed t he ar ea of pr otect i on and devel opment f or t he

i ndi genous communi t i es and conser vat i on of t he envi r onment . " 27 An ar t i c l e

publ i shed l at er t hat year di scusses t he f avor abl e at t ent i on t he Mi ami Her al d

was payi ng to Barco' s Amazoni a pol i ci es. 28 A 1989 ar t i cl e ti t l ed "The Key to

Amazoni an Success" pr ai ses t he r egi on' s i nhabi t ant s, who ar e t he answer t o

t he pr obl ems t hat count r i es wi t hi n t he Amazon basi n ar e experi enci ng wi t h

r espect t o management of t he envi r onment . The r epor t er cl ai ms t hat Col ombi ans

now under st and that I ndi ans ut i l i ze a l ar ge ar ea ar ound thei r l onghouses; t he

i dea of a vi r gi n f orest was er r oneous because al t hough t he j ungl e sur r ounds

Man, human cul t ur e ext ends t hr ough t he j ungl e, r egul at i ng i t ( La cl ave del

xi t o amazni co, El Espect ador , May 13, 1989) . By 1990 t he number of

hectares i n Amazoni a had i ncr eased t o 18 mi l l i on; Barco i s quoted st at i ng

t hat t hese f or t y- t wo resguar dos, al ong wi t h t he count r y' s syst em of nat ur al

parks, show t hat Col ombi a i s t oday one of t he count r i es pr otect i ng t he

l ar gest amount of t r opi cal f or est ( Col ombi a, el mayor pr ot ect or de l a sel va

t r opi cal : Bar co, El Espectador , Apr i l 24, 1990) .

The t heme of t he Amazon as suppl i er of t he wor l d' s oxygen al so appear s.

One 1999 art i cl e about a "j our ney t o the l ungs of t he worl d" r eport s on an

i nt er nat i onal symposi um i n Let i ci a dur i ng whi ch del egat es t r avel ed t o a

mal oka ( t he t r adi t i onal Amazoni an l onghouse) t o hear i ndi genous l eaders

expl ai n t he si gni f i cance Amazoni a has f or t hem. The ar t i cl e st at es t hat

"wi t hi n each mal oka l i ve the wor l d' s most ef f i ci ent admi ni st r at or s [ of t he

envi r onment ] " and quot es a Mui nane l eader : "We have demonst r at ed t hat we know

how t o car r y out devel opment wi t hout dest r oyi ng nature. I n thi s way we have

al ways managed t he envi r onment " ( Vi aj e al pul mn de l a Ti er r a, El

Espect ador , November 23, 1999; al so see El Ti empo, December 9, 2005) . Anot her

ar t i cl e l ament s t he negati ve i mpact of set t l er s on t he ecosyst em but speaks

ver y f avor abl y of i ndi genous Amazoni ans; af t er br i ef l y r ecount i ng an or i gi n


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myth and descr i bi ng i ndi genous dai l y l i f e, t he aut hor di scusses t he

del eteri ous i mpact of t he rubber boomand cont emporary coca cul t i vat i on

i nt r oduced by out si der s. 29 Anot her ar t i c l e descr i bes t he ef f ect of i l l egal

cul t i vat i on on i ndi genous Amazoni ans' way of l i f e, i n par t i cul ar t he negat i ve

i mpact on t hei r ecosyst ems, whi ch " i s l eadi ng t o ext i nct i on and di spl acement

of t hese popul at i ons" ( Los i nd genas t ambi n pi erden, El Ti empo, May 18,

1998; al so see El Espect ador , Apr i l 27, 1994) . I n cont r ast , anot her ar t i cl e

sympathet i cal l y descr i bes i ndi genous Amazoni ans' need t o cul t i vat e coca f or

t hei r own r i t ual consumpt i on ( Queremos coca, no coca na, El Ti empo, Oct ober

14, 2000) . An art i cl e on a meet i ng i n Bogot of t he Nat i onal Congr ess of t he

Envi r onment cont ai ns a phot ogr aph of an Amazoni an man wi t h f eather s,

neckl ace, and st af f ; t he capt i on r eads, "I ndi ans were pr esent i n t he congr ess

t o expr ess t hei r t hi nki ng about t he f atal dest i ny of Mother Nat ur e, and wer e

r adi cal i n t hei r opi ni ons" ( Fi n de semana ver de, El Ti empo, J ul y 27, 1998) .

Amazoni an "Lessons t o Be Lear ned"

Al t hough rel at i vel y l i t t l e wr i t i ng f eat ur es Amazoni an puebl os t eachi ng

" l essons t o be l ear ned, " we have seen such suggest i ons i ndi r ect l y ment i oned

i n a number of ar t i cl es descr i bed ear l i er . Her e i s a mor e di r ect exampl e:

"The el der l y Ui t ot os t al k about pr i nci pl es of peace, l i ber t y, and abundance,

because when speaki ng about t r adi t i onal medi ci ne t hey r ef er t o t he

envi r onment , t o educat i on and coexi st ence. Thei r knowl edge i s hol i st i c and,

l i ke t he uni ver se, wi t hout f r agment at i on. " 30 An ar t i cl e t i t l ed "I ndi genous

Wi sdom, a Model f or Peace" descr i bes a workshop t o di scuss ways t o end t he

conf l i ct . A st ep f orward was l ear ni ng t hat t hose who dwel l wi t hi n t he mal oka

r espect t hei r t r adi t i ons, i ncl udi ng myt hs and bel i ef s, as wel l as t he

envi r onment . Thi s i s because t he mal oka r epr esent s t he cent er of t he

communi t y, where cul t ur e i s bor n and knowl edge, t hought s, and r el i gi osi t y ar e

t r ansmi t t ed ( Sabi dur a i nd gena, un model o para l a paz, El Espect ador, May

1, 1999) .

The Conf l i ct i n Amazoni a

Amazoni an puebl os, many of whom f i nd t hemsel ves ext r emel y bel eaguer ed

( J ackson 2005) , r ecei ve especi al l y sympathet i c t r eat ment i n t he medi a.

Ext i nct i on i s ment i oned mor e t han once; because of t hei r r el at i vel y smal l

numbers , f orced di spl acement and ki l l i ngs put many puebl os at r i sk of

ent i r el y di sappear i ng ( Col ombi anos en pel i gr o de exti nci n, El Ti empo,

November 27, 2003) . A 2003 art i cl e report s t hat t went y- t wo of t he f i f t y- f our


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puebl os ar e i n danger of di sappear i ng. 31 Thr ee art i cl es report on t he massacr e

of seven Koreguaj es i n J ul y 1997, whi ch brought t he total number of Koreguaj e

assassi nat i ons t o f or t y- t wo (an addi t i onal f our wer e "di sappear ed") i n onl y

f our year s. 32 Thi s puebl o has onl y t wo t housand member s. A Koreguaj e l eader

concl udes, "They want t o vi ol ent l y obl i t er at e us" ( Vi ol enci a cont r a

kor eguaj es dej a 42 muert os en cuat r o aos, El Ti empo, Oct ober 2, 1997) .

Anot her ar t i cl e quot es a Hui t ot o at a meet i ng: "Vi ol ence i s t he resul t of

consumer i sm, of not want i ng t o share wi t h ot hers. Fr omt hi s comes hate. " The

r epor t er comment s, "Hi s words br ought a message of hope, f or he assured us

t hat peace woul d be at t ai ned when Man comes t o l i ve harmoni ousl y wi t h

Nat ur e. " 33 An ar t i cl e cont ai ni ng a phot ogr aph of t hr ee Amazoni an i ndi genous

men deep i n t he f orest , where they have sought r ef uge, i s capt i oned, "They

ar e t r yi ng t o conserve t hei r t r adi t i on, despi t e t he poundi ng of t he West "

( El mapa no es el t er r i t or i o, El Espect ador , Sept ember 10, 2000) .

St or i es about Amazoni an puebl os pr ot est i ng guer r i l l a ar mi es' f or ci bl e

r ecr ui t ment of t hei r yout h show anot her si de of t he conf l i ct ' s negat i ve

i mpact . 34 Such f orced r ecrui t ment i s "agai nst t he phi l osophy of t hei r

communi t i es, whi ch support sol i dar i t y, r espect and uni t y" ( El Espect ador ,

March 9, 2003) .

Amazoni an Gender

The over al l hi gher r at i o of phot ographs t o t ext f or women as compared t o t he

r at i o f or men i s especi al l y tr ue f or ar t i cl es on Amazoni a. As al r eady not ed,

i ndi genous women appear i ng i n t ext s or photogr aphs are quot ed f ar l ess of t en

t han men, and t hi s i s par t i cul ar l y t r ue of Amazoni an women. Photogr aphs of

Amazoni an women tend t o embody sexual and "pr i mi t i ve" t hemes ( see

Pi et i kai ni en 2003: 590) ; f or exampl e, a phot ogr aph i l l ust r at i ng an ar t i cl e

t i t l ed "I ndi genous Communi t i es: Vi ct i ms of ' Ci vi l i zat i on, " i s capt i oned

" I ndi genous communi t i es were persecut ed i n Col ombi a. " But t he phot ogr aph i s a

cl ose- up of a bar e- breast ed young Amazoni an woman f l anked by t wo ol der women

( Comuni dades i nd genas, v ct i mas de l a ci vi l i zaci n, El Espect ador ,

May 23, 1999) . A phot ogr aph i l l ust r at i ng a st ory on speci al i ndi genous

j ur i sdi ct i on i s capt i oned "The puni shment s handed down by t he cabi l dos var y

accor di ng t o the cr i me and t he communi t y. They can st r et ch f r om t he whi p or

communal l abor al l t he way t o bani shment . " But t he phot ogr aph i t sel f shows an

Amazoni an woman si t t i ng i n a chai r wi t h a hammock near by and two boys i n the

backgr ound (Ley de bl ancos para i nd genas, El Espect ador, Sept ember 6,

1999) . An ar t i cl e' s phot ogr aph of t hr ee l i t t l e Amazoni an gi r l s i s capt i oned


19/34

"The I ndi ans of t he r egi on f i ght t o pr eserve t hei r cul t ur e" ( Amazonas, Ci nco

pasos por l a sel va, El Ti empo, November 9, 2006) . I n f act , onl y one of El

Ti empo' s st or i es t hat f eat ure phot ographs of Amazoni an women shows a l i nk

between the t ext and the photogr aph ( J une 6, 1997) , but onl y i n passi ng: t he

t ext i s about an ar t s f ai r i n Bogot . And onl y three El Espect ador ar t i cl es

do so. The f i r st , al so onl y i n passi ng, i s f ound i n a st or y about Pr esi dent

Barco' s vi si t t o La Chor r era i n 1988, whi ch i ncl udes a photogr aph of a woman

and an i nf ant . The capt i on i ndi cat es that she resi des i n t he r esguardo t hat

had r ecei ved t he l arge t r act of l and t he pr evi ous day (Bar co, al r escat e del

Amazonas, El Espect ador , Apr i l 24, 1988) . The second, an ar t i cl e about t he

1990 "Woman of t he Year " pr i ze gi ven by the Fund f or Fami l y Compensat i on

( Caj a de Compensaci n Fami l i ar ) , cont ai ns a photogr aph of t he wi nner , t he

Hui t oto Mar a Encarnaci n Sukr oke. 35 A capt i oned phot ogr aph was publ i shed t he

f ol l owi ng day ( Fi gur a de hoy, El Espect ador , March 9, 1990) . The t hi r d

ar t i cl e that cont ai ns a phot ogr aph l i nked t o bot h t he capt i on and t ext

f eat ur es a Nukak- Mak hi gh- f ashi on model i n Bogot ( see bel ow) .

Al t hough a f ew newspaper ar t i cl es f eat ured i ndi genous women, wi t h t wo

except i ons t hey l i ve el sewhere i n t he count r y. The st ory about Sukroke

descr i bes her as an "aut hent i c" l eader who f ounded a women' s communi t y group

t hat successf ul l y pushed f or bet t er educat i on and publ i c heal t h servi ces. But

t he ar t i cl e al so di spl ays t he f ami l i ar ot her i ng: she "embodi es t he aut hent i c

i ndi genous woman, worki ng on a par wi t h t he man, baref oot , i n t he r ai n,

cut t i ng down t r ees wi t h a machet e i n her l i t t l e pi ece of j ungl e" i n or der t o

pr ovi de her husband and f i ve chi l dr en "wi t h pi neappl es and other ki nds of

f r u i t . " 36 No quot es are pr ovi ded. The ot her ar t i cl e i s about Francy Bui t r ago,

a Nukak f ashi on model i n Bogot , " t he model wi t h nomadi c bl ood. " Al t hough she

i s ost ensi bl y "modern" and ur ban, t hi s Amazoni an nat i ve woman i s t he subj ect

of a st ory whose mai n message i s about a very exot i ci zed other ; f or exampl e,

her t ot al l y pl ucked eyebr ows r ecei ve seri ous att ent i on. 37 Al t hough cl ear l y

r espondi ng t o f emi ni st cur r ent s i n t he new mi l l enni um, both of t hese st or i es

t hat f eature Amazoni an women ar e unmi st akabl e exampl es of t okeni sm, bot h

hi ghl y exot i ci zed. The cl osest El Ti empo comes t o such t okeni sm i s a st or y

publ i shed on Mother ' s Day t i t l ed "The I ndi genous Woman: Aut hent i c Mother

t hr ough Tr adi t i on. " A super f i ci al sur vey based on an i nt er vi ew wi t h t he

Col ombi an ant hropol ogi st Ni na de Fr i edmann, t he ar t i cl e ment i ons Amazoni an

women ( descr i bed as " submerged i n the j ungl e") t hree t i mes. 38

At t hi s j unct ur e I want t o expl or e f ur t her what Col ombi a' s i ndi genous

Amazoni ans, especi al l y women, symbol i ze f or mai nst r eam Col ombi an soci ety.


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Fami l i ar al t eri t y si gnal i ng associ at ed wi t h t he Amazoni an nat i ve i ncl udes

i mages of "t he pr i mi t i ve, " l i nks t o nat ur e and the nat ur al ( t he Amazon r egi on

i t sel f ) , and t r opes i ndi cat i ng chi l d- l i ke na vet , i gnor ance, and

i nf er i or i t y. Cont r ast i ng i mages al so appear t hat r ef er ence val uabl e

at t r i but es, such as aut hor i t y vest ed i n t he el der s, aut hent i c spi r i t ual i t y,

and possessi on of powerf ul esot eri c knowl edge used f or t he benef i t of t he

communi t y.

Amazoni an women have of t en symbol i zed a myst er i ous and prof ound

al t er i t y, f r equent l y of a sexual nat ur e. A f ami l i ar i mage i n ear l i er per i ods

i s t he New Wor l d repr esent ed as i ndi genous f emal e. She i s a dusky, seduct i ve,

beaut i f ul young woman r eady f or t he t aki ng, as i n Wi l l i am Bl ake' s f amous

etchi ng of "Eur ope Support ed by Af r i ca and Amer i ca" ( see Nagel 2003) or

Theodor e Gal l e' s "Vespucci ' Di scover i ng' Amer i ca, " where Amer i ca i s depi ct ed

as a naked i ndi genous woman i n a hammock ( see Faer y 1999) . We al so have Si r

Wal t er Ral ei gh' s f amous char act er i zat i on of Guyana as " a Count r ey t hat hath

yet her Maydenhead" ( 1997; Sl ater 2002: 34; al so see Faer y 1999) . Al t hough i n

t hese ear l i er r epr esent at i ons t he at t r act i ve, i nvi t i ng nat i ve woman

r epr esent s al l t he Amer i cas, t he i mage f i t s st er eot ypes of Amazoni an- l i ke

women f ar more t han, say, Andean nat i ve women, f or t hey are near l y nude and

of t en por t r ayed i n a supi ne, l anguor ous pose. Cl ot hi ng, work, chi l dr en, and

nat i ve men are nowhere to be seen.

As happens wi t h t he symbol i cs of t he Amazoni an nat i ve of unspeci f i ed

gender , cont r adi ct i ons are easi l y f ound wi t hi n t he tot al i t y of symbol s

cont ai ned i n r epr esent at i ons of t he Amazoni an woman: a set of al t ernat i ve,

equal l y f ami l i ar i mages oppose t he pr ecedi ng set of i mages of t he seduct i ve

and passi ve young nat i ve woman. These t r opes r ef erence power , most f amousl y

per soni f i ed by t he Amazons, t he st r ong and i ndependent women war r i or s of myt h

and expl or er account s. Li t er at ur e about t hem, al ong wi t h t he l i t er at ur e t hat

anal yzes t hi s l i t erat ur e, abounds ( see, f or exampl e, Bamberger 1974; Mur phy

and Mur phy 20041009

1009AU: 2004 in refs changed.

; Stever l ynck 2003; Ti f f any and Adams 1985) . The message of

power char act er i zi ng t he war r i or Amazon i mage i s somet i mes hei ght ened by

addi t i onal at t r i but es t hat al so si gnal power and aut hor i t y, such as physi cal

hei ght and, occasi onal l y, r el at i ve whi t eness of ski n ( Sl at er 2002: 89) . These

Amazons s i gni f y not onl y power and a wi l l t o vi ol ence, but i ndependence f r om

men and a r enunci at i on of convent i onal ( hetero) sexual and r epr oduct i ve r ol es,

symbol i zed by thei r wi l l i ngness t o cut of f a br east t o become mor e ski l l f ul


21/34

ar cher s. Or , i f not r enunci at i on, t hey i ndul ge i n a var i et y of sexual

per ver si ons t hat i nvar i abl y chal l enge pat r i ar chal aut hor i t y. As Candace

Sl ater ( 2002) poi nt s out , t he power f ul mat r i ar ch i s al so a member of t hi s

subcat egory. We can concl ude t hat ambi gui t y and ambi val ence, at t i mes

pr of ound, charact er i ze t he ent i r e domai n of warr i or Amazon i mages. The near l y

uni ver sal di ct um t hat powerf ul women cannot be a good t hi ng def i ni t el y

char act er i zes t hi s set of i mages.

Amazoni an women are al so r ecrui t ed as symbol s of t he myst er i ous j ungl e

and Nat ur e hersel f . Repr esent ati ons al ong t hese l i nes i ncl ude those i n t he

Br azi l i an aut hor Al ber t o Rangel ' s I nf er no ver de ( Gr een Hel l ) and t he

Col ombi an aut hor J os Eust aci o Ri ver a' s La Vorgi ne ( The Vort ex) and by t he

nat i ve woman i n t he Br azi l i an f i l m Como er a gost oso o meu f r ancs ( How Tast y

Was My Frenchman, 1971) . Sl ater ci t es Ri ver a' s char act er i zat i on of t he Amazon

j ungl e as " t he wi f e of si l ence" and t he "mot her of sol i t ude and mi st " ( La

Vor gi ne 99, ci t ed i n Sl at er 2002: 252) . A t hi r d tr ope, t he Amazon regi on

depi ct ed as an el usi ve f emal e, i s exempl i f i ed i n Lvi - St r auss' s f r ust r at i on

at t he Amazon f or est ' s ref usal t o l et hi m i n on "t he secret of i t s vi r gi ni t y"

( Sl at er 2002: 101, ci t i ng Tr i st es Tr opi ques 1964) .

Cl ear l y, t he bl at ant l y sexi st and r aci st depi cti ons of t he si xt eent h

and sevent eent h cent ur i es ar e a t hi ng of t he past . However , i t i s i mport ant

t o not e t hat t he t wo newspaper s' t r eat ment of t he countr y' s Amazoni an women

makes use of onl y some of t he t r opes j ust descr i bed. The power f ul Amazon

war r i or i s t ot al l y absent , as i s t he power f ul mat r i ar ch. 39 Al l depi ct i ons of

i ndi genous power and wi sdom appear i n mascul i ne f or m. The Amazoni an woman,

when she appear s, i s voi cel ess and, wi t h t he except i on of " Woman of t he Year "

Sukr oque and perhaps t he Nukak Fr ancy Bui t r ago, wi t hout agency, an obj ect t o

be obser ved (and, of cour se, f ant asi zed about ) . The Amazoni an woman' s

f r equent appear ance as a t ype of exot i c eye candy, as happens i n phot ogr aphs

of young, of t en semi cl ot hed women, r ecal l s t he ear l i er r epr esent at i ons of t he

New Worl d as seduct i ve, passi ve, and, of t en, supi ne f emal e nat i ve. The other,

f ar l ess f r equent t ype of r epr esent at i on i n t he two newspapers shows t he

i ndi genous Amazoni an woman as an ordi nar y mot her i n t r opi cal domest i c

surr oundi ngs, al t hough t he ar t i cl e about Sukroque does br i ef l y ment i on her

acti vi t i es as a l eader .

An ar t i cl e publ i shed i n El Espect ador sl i ght l y bef or e t he per i od under

exami nat i on i l l ust r at es my poi nt . Ti t l ed "God, Fer t i l i t y and t he Uni ver se of

I ndi genous Longhouses" i t descr i bes t he l onghouse of t he Mur ui - Mui nane, a

Col ombi an Amazoni an puebl o. The ar t i cl e i s i l l ust r at ed wi t h a l ar ge l i ne


22/34

dr awi ng of a l onghouse t hat enci r cl es a naked i ndi genous woman wi t h l ong hai r

and a f i ber headdr ess. She has assumed a crouched posi t i on; t he ar t i cl e

descr i bes t hi s post ur e as t he posi t i on f or gi vi ng bi r t h. Many of t he symbol s

we have j ust exami ned are cont ai ned i n t hi s drawi ng: a young, encl osed,

domest i c, f ecund, naked ( save f or a head or nament ) , cr ouched woman wi t h her

head l ower ed. 40 The f act t hat t he Mur ui - Mui nane do char act er i ze t hei r

l onghouses i n somewhat si mi l ar t erms ( Car l os Lodoo, personal communi cat i on,

Sept ember 8, 2008) does not al t er t hi s r eadi ng of t he i l l ust r at i on, f or I am

anal yzi ng t he symbol i c r ol es i ndi genous Amazoni an women pl ay f or

noni ndi genous r eaders.

Di scussi on

Press cover age of Col ombi a' s puebl os dur i ng t he per i od 19882005 r eveal s a

much mor e posi t i ve t one t han I or i gi nal l y pr edi ct ed. Favor abl e pr ess

at t ent i on t o i ndi genous i ssues began i n 1988 wi t h st ori es cover i ng t he Barco

admi ni st r at i on' s deedi ng l ar ge por t i ons of t he nat i onal t er r i t or y t o puebl os,

especi al l y i n Amazoni an depart ment s. Of cour se at cert ai n earl i er moment s

dur i ng t he 1970s and ear l y 1980s puebl os r ecei ved f ai r l y posi t i ve medi a

at t ent i on, f or exampl e, Pr esi dent Bel i sar i o Bet ancur ' s vi si t t o Si l vi a, Cauca

( an Andean depar t ment wi t h a l arge i ndi genous popul at i on) i n November 1982 t o

announce a new st at e pol i cy addr essi ng puebl os' t err i t ori al cl ai ms. But t he

most ext ensi ve and f avorabl e cover age begi ns i n 1988.

Obvi ousl y t he phenomenon of i ncreased and more posi t i ve medi a cover age

dur i ng t he 1990s was not si mpl y due t o a newl y di scovered per cei ved need on

t he par t of t he count r y' s nat i onal newspapers t o j ump on t he mul t i cul t ur al

bandwagon. Sever al addi t i onal cont r i but i ng f act or s pl ayed i mpor t ant r ol es.

Fi r st , changes i n t he cul t ur al pol i t i cs of i ndi genei t y over t he past t went y

years have been consi derabl e; dur i ng t hi s t i me Col ombi a wi t nessed al l sor t s

of ef f or t s on t he par t of i t s puebl os and t hei r noni ndi genous al l i es t o

achi eve cul t ur al r evi t al i zat i on. An exampl e of sel f - i ndi geni zi ng i s t he

evol ut i on of some i ndi genous l eaders' speech, whi ch showed a marked i ncr ease

i n i ndi genous words and phr ases as wel l as al l usi ons t o i ndi genous val ues and

cosmovi si on. Thei r choi ce of cl ot hi ng and hai r st yl e al so evol ved over t he

per i od 19882005. Leader s such as t he Tul e ( Kuna) Abadi o Gr een and t he

I ngas Gabr i el Muyuy and Antoni o J acanami j oy i ncr easi ngl y donned i ndi genous

cl ot hi ng. 41 The f act t hat many of t he i ndi genous l eaders descr i bed i n t he

ar t i cl es i n t he ent i r e cor pus ar e t hemsel ves ver y act i vel y per f or mi ng

al t er i t y needs t o be consi der ed when i nt erpret i ng t he degr ee of ot her i ng t hat


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appear s i n newspaper ar t i cl es. To what degr ee ar e the j our nal i st s,

photogr apher s, and edi t ors mi sl eadi ng r eader s t hr ough t hei r choi ces of exot i c

i mages, and t o what degr ee are t hese i mages appear i ng si mpl y as t he resul t of

del i ber at e sel f - r ei ndi geni zat i on through changes i n cl ot hi ng, speech, and

nonver bal behavi or?

An addi t i onal and r el at ed consi der at i on i s t he si gni f i cant change i n

t he nat i on' s i magi nar y of what I cal l Col ombi a' s " j ungl e I ndi ans, " t hose

puebl os f ound i n t he r egi ons of Amazoni a, t he Or i noco basi n, and Paci f i c

l owl ands. I n pr evi ous er as everyone, not onl y noni ndi genous Col ombi ans but

i t s nat i ves as wel l ( i ncl udi ng l owl and communi t i es t hemsel ves) , saw t he

l owl and I ndi an as t he stereot ypi cal di r t y, poor , i gnor ant , na ve i ndi o who

spoke a bar bar ous l anguage. But as posi t i ve di scour ses of i ndi genous al t eri t y

came t o t he f or e, puebl os whose member s l ooked more i ndi genous f ound

t hemsel ves becomi ng t he st andard- bear ers i n cert ai n cr uci al symbol i c

r espects, and t hese t ended t o be l owl and puebl os ( see J ackson 1991) . Puebl os

t hat r et ai ned t hei r l anguage, cont i nued t hei r t r adi t i onal pr act i ces and

cust oms ( usos y cost umbr es) , and wore some f orm of i ndi genous cl othi ng had

hi gher st andi ng i n t he "aut hent i ci t y" r anki ngs. Because Amazoni an nat i ves i n

f act do di f f er f r om mai nst r eam cul t ur e and soci et y to a gr eat er ext ent t han

most puebl os ( even t hose r etai ni ng t hei r l anguage and t r adi t i onal cost ume, as

i s t he case f or t he Andean Guambi anos) , we cannot aut omat i cal l y concl ude t hat

t he gr eat er amount s of otheri ng apparent i n ar t i cl es and photogr aphs ar e due

ei t her t o r ecent r ei ndi geni zi ng ef f or t s on t he par t of Amazoni an puebl os or

t o an excessi ve j our nal i st i c ot her i ng t hat mi sr epr esent s t he act ual

s i t uat i on.

Yet even i n t he case of ext ensi ve di f f er ences i t usual l y i s easy t o

spot medi a ot her i ng t echni ques. Medi a t r eat ment of t he Nukak- Mak puebl o

of f er s a cl ear case of ot her i ng, t hei r ver y r eal and vi si bl e di f f er ences

not wi t hst andi ng. An unwi l l i ng post er puebl o f or t he cat egor y "j ungl e

I ndi ans, " t he Nukak- Mak woul d wi n any "aut hent i c t r adi t i onal I ndi an" cont est

hands down. Nomadi c f oragers who wear ver y l i t t l e or no cl othi ng, t hey are

depi ct ed as chi l d- l i ke and ext r emel y na ve, ef f ect i vel y el i mi nat i ng t he

possi bi l i t y of t hei r bei ng vi ewed as i nt el l i gent , adul t , and agent i ve peopl e.

Even t he most sympathet i c ar t i cl es ( t he Nukak- Mak' s very exi st ence i s

i mper i l ed by t he conf l i ct and i nf ect i ous di sease) al most i nvar i abl y dwel l on

t he most exot i c i t ems of t hei r cui si ne and al most al ways f eat ur e photogr aphs

of near l y naked and near l y bal d Nukak- Mak women ( al l Nukak- Mak spor t U. S.

Mar i ne- st yl e hai r cut s) . 42


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Over t he past t went y year s Col ombi a' s i ndi genous communi t i es have

occupi ed a much l arger space i n t he nat i onal medi a t han t hei r numbers woul d

warr ant . I have concl uded t hat , t o a gr eat er degr ee t han happens i n the

nat i onal medi a of other Lat i n Ameri can count r i es, Col ombi a' s i ndi genous

peopl e pl ay t he r ol e of a messenger who shows Col ombi ans who t hey are by

r eveal i ng what t hey are not , i n part i cul ar what t hey l ack. ( We must keep i n

mi nd t hat such " l essons t o be l ear ned" are not al ways based on accur ate or

compr ehensi ve i nf ormat i on. ) Puebl os are seen t o possess at t i t udes and

pr act i ces t hat Col ombi ans woul d do wel l t o t ake t o hear t . Puebl o members

husband t he envi r onment . They r espect el ders and t r adi t i ons ( e. g. , shamani c

medi ci ne) . They mai nt ai n a l ess hect i c pace, keep t hei r spi r i t ual i t y i nt act ,

and val ue t hei r communi t y, whi ch t hey def end unarmed, save f or ceremoni al

st af f s. Puebl os' t r adi t i onal j udi ci al syst ems ar e descri bed as f uncti oni ng

wel l , get t i ng thi ngs done wi t hout ei t her t he l ong del ays or t he endemi c

cor r upt i on f ound everywhere el se. Puebl os ar e al so shown f i ght i ng

t r ansnat i onal domi nat i on. For exampl e, i n cont r ast t o a pr i vat e Col ombi an

uni ver si t y, whi ch i s depi ct ed as havi ng sol d out t o power f ul f or ei gn

sci ent i f i c i nst i t ut i ons and mul t i nat i onal phar maceut i cal compani es,

sympat heti c st or i es show puebl os accusi ng t hese i nst i t ut i ons of bi opi r acy. 431010

Al t hough Amazoni an i ndi genous l eaders pl ay such r ol es i n t he pr ess f ar

l ess f r equent l y than l eader s f r om cer t ai n ot her r egi ons of t he count r y (whi ch

i s not surpr i si ng when we consi der t he smal l numbers and di sper sed set t l ement

pat t ern) , when i ndi genous Amazoni a appear s i n t he press t he t r eat ment i s

si mi l ar l y posi t i ve. From Bar co' s 1988 La Chor r er a speech t o more r ecent

depi ct i ons of i ndi genous Amazoni ans as eco- f r i endl y st ewar ds of t he f or est

and deepl y wi se pr act i t i oner s of t r adi t i onal medi ci ne, r emar kabl y f avor abl e

cover age cont i nues t o appear , al ong wi t h port r ayal s of t he Amazon regi on

i t sel f as a uni que sour ce of pur e and uncor r upt ed natur e. The except i on i s

pr ess t r eat ment of Amazoni an i ndi genous women, whi ch, al t hough not overt l y

negat i ve, cannot r eal l y be cal l ed posi t i ve. Even gi ven t he r el at i ve

Fi nal l y, puebl os ar e descr i bed as havi ng an envi abl e abi l i t y t o col l ect i vel y

sol ve pr obl ems, i nt er nal as wel l as ext er nal , wi t hout r esor t i ng t o vi ol ence.

Even ext r emel y di vi si ve i nt r apuebl o bat t l es, some of t hem cl osel y f ol l owed i n

t he medi a, mer i t posi t i ve medi a tr eat ment , f or t hese conf l i ct s' peacef ul

r esol ut i ons are seen as a l esson t o mai nst r eam soci et y, whi ch al l t oo of t en

f ai l s i n thi s area. 44

1010AU: please add Correa to refs and cite full documentation in note 43 deleted Correa ref..


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voi cel essness of et hni c mi nor i t i es t hat char acteri zes j our nal i st i c pr acti ce

i n gener al ( Pi et i kai nen 2003: 595) , pr ess t r eat ment of t hi s mi nor i t y i s

ext r eme i n t hi s r egar d, f or t hey ar e, i n ef f ect , r ender ed mut e.

Concl usi on

As t he ti t l e Edi t i ng Eden suggest s, t hi s book' s mai n goal i s t o de- myst i f y

t he Amazon and i t s nat i ve i nhabi t ant s. The aut hors seek t o engage wi t h and

anal yze the domi nant t hemes, st ereotypes, and f ant asi es t hat work t o creat e

par t i cul ar i magi ni ngs of t he Amazon so as t o r eveal shor t comi ngs and

cont r adi ct i ons. I n t hi s chapt er I have anal yzed an extr aor di nar y set of

i mages and symbol s f ound i n ar t i cl es about t he count r y' s i ndi genous peopl es

i n Col ombi a' s t wo nat i onal newspapers . The t one of t he art i cl es, whi ch r anges

f r omneut r al t o f avor abl e, i s unusual i n Lat i n Amer i can medi a r epr esent at i ons

of i ndi genous communi t i es. The nat i on' s puebl os have pl ayed a pr onounced

her meneut i c r ol e dur i ng t he past t went y- odd year s, i n part i cul ar i n t hose

ar t i cl es t hat i nvi t e noni ndi genous Col ombi ans t o ref l ect on t he nat i on' s

pr obl ems and to consi der puebl os as r ol e model s poi nt i ng the way t o

sol ut i ons. Col ombi a' s unf or t unate posi t i on as a " f aade democracy" ( 98

per cent of cr i mes go unpuni shed, cor r upt i on i s r i f e at ever y l evel , and t he

gover nment i s seen t o be run by a cot er i e of el i t e, sel f - i nt er est ed

pol i t i ci ans) sur el y has pl ayed a par t i n br i ngi ng t hi s r ol e i nt o bei ng. The

hor r endous i mpact of t he conf l i ct i s anot her key f act or ; not sur pr i si ngl y,

t he di sproport i onate amount of t he vi ol ence puebl os are subj ect ed t o educes

sympat het i c cover age, as do i nst ances when unarmed communi t i es r esi st

domi nat i on by ar med act or s, l egal and i l l egal . I n shor t , pr ess t r eat ment wi l l

be f avorabl e whenever puebl os are t he under dog, no mat t er what t he i ssue.

Thi s i s not t o say t hat t he medi a al ways suppor t puebl o posi t i ons. A

col umni st , f or exampl e, mi ght whol ehear t edl y suppor t oi l expl or at i on;

however , even i f t he ar t i cl e di scusses the U' wa puebl o' s cat egor i cal

r ej ecti on of sei smi c test s i n t hei r t er r i t or y, t hey ar e not di r ectl y

cri t i ci zed. I nst ances of poor l y pl anned and i mpl ement ed neol i ber al pol i ci es

al so i nspi r e f avor abl e narr at i ves, as do cases demonst r at i ng t he negat i ve

si de of gl obal i zat i on ( e. g. , bi opi r acy) or devel opment pr oj ect s t hat r un

r oughshod over i ndi genous t er r i t or i es and desi r es.

I ndi genous Amazoni a i nspi r es ar t i cl es t hat cont i nue t he l ong tr adi t i on

characteri zed by bel l hooks as a " concrete search f or a r eal pr i mi t i ve

par adi se, whether t hat l ocat i on be a count r y or a body" ( ci t ed i n Rodr guez-

Mangual 2004: 40) . These deni zens of an Edeni c Amazon are por t r ayed as


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guardi ans of an i mperi l ed ecosyst em and pr act i t i oners of a shamani sm

char act er i zed by an aut hent i c and t r adi t i onal spi r i t ual i t y. The t wo dai l y

newspaper s' t r eat ment of i ndi genous Amazoni an women const i t utes t he one

gl ari ng except i on t o posi t i ve por t r ayal s. Al t hough we have no def i ni t i ve

evi dence of t r ul y negat i ve ot her i ng- - i n t he sense of bl at ant l y sexi st and

r aci st depi ct i ons- - t he f act t hat onl y t wo ar t i cl es i n my Amazoni a cor pus

f eature women, and t hat i nvar i abl y when women appear ( most of t en i n

phot ogr aphs) t hey communi cat e very f ami l i ar and r egr essi ve messages, l eads me

t o concl ude t hat t hi s i s a case of " same ol d, same ol d. " The way Amazoni an

women are depi ct ed i s al l t oo r ecogni zabl e; most of t en t hey are si mpl y

i nvi si bl e, but when t hey are pr esent t hey are al most al ways obj ect s t o be

seen but not hear d. Thi s i s especi al l y so i n t he case of phot ogr aphs, whi ch

at t i mes of f er up t he Amazon woman as a ki nd of exot i c eye candy to be

savored by the mal e gaze. I nsof ar as we can i nf er t he aut hors ' ,

phot ogr apher s' , and edi t or s' i nt ent i ons, t he mot i vat i ons and goal s t hat l ed

t o t hese i mages bei ng cr eat ed and di ssemi nated r eveal a very di st anced

per spect i ve, a need t o obj ect i f y, and a di si ncl i nat i on t o at t r i but e agency t o

a col l ecti vi t y t hat const i t ut es, af t er al l , 50 per cent of Amazoni a' s adul t

i ndi genous i nhabi t ant s.

Not es

An ear l i er ver si on of t hi s essay was pr esent ed at t he 2006 Lat i n

Ameri can St udi es Associ at i on meet i ngs i n San J uan, Puert o Ri co, i n t he

sessi on "De- essent i al i zi ng Amazoni an Soci al and Pol i t i cal Space. " My t hanks

t o Frank Hut chi ns and Pat r i ck Wi l son f or or gani zi ng t he sessi on and

subsequent l y pr ovi di ng ver y hel pf ul edi t or i al comment s. The f i r st

pr esent at i on of t hi s r esearch, "Document i ng Et hni c Resur gence and Et hnoci de:

Repr esent at i ons of I ndi genei t y i n t he Col ombi an Pr ess, " t ook pl ace i n 2003 i n

t he symposi um "The Vi ol ence of Repr esent at i on and I t s Di scont ent s: Cr eat i ng

Publ i cs, Border s, and Br i dges" at t he aaa annual meet i ng i n Chi cago

i n November , organi zed by Char l es Br i ggs.

1. Puebl os i ncl ude Andoke, Bor a, Cari j ona ( Kar i j ona) , Cocama, Cor eguaj e,

Hupdu ( Mak) , J uhup ( Mak) , Kakua ( Mak) , Kof n ( Cof n) , Kubeo, Let uama,

Makaguaj e, Makuna, Mat ap , Mi r aa, Mui nane, Nonuya, Nukak (Mak) , Ocai na,

Tani muka, Ui t ot o ( Wi t ot o) , Si ona, Ti kuna, Yagua, Yukuna, Yur i , and t he

"Tukanoan cul t ur al compl ex" ( Bar, Barasana, Carapana, Desana, Kawi yar ,

Pi r at apuyo, Pi sami r , Si r i ano, Tai wano [ Edur i a] , Tar i ano, Tat uyo, Tukano,

Tuyuka, Wanano, and Yurut ) . I n 2004 t he vi ce mi ni st er of def ense, Andrs


27/34

Peat e Gi r al do, sai d t hat f i f t y- si x puebl os are i n Amazoni a ( def i ned as

i ncl udi ng t he depar t ment s of Amazonas, Caquet, Guai n a, Guavi are, Put umayo

and Vaups) . Mi l i t ar es, t ambi n a cur so de i nd genas, El Ti empo, J ul y 13,

2004.

2. Wi nst on Manr i que Sabogal , Tr pt i co de l a sel va, El Espect ador , Apr i l 27,

1994.

3. Mar i sol Gmez Gi r al do and Gl emi s Mogol l n, Seducci n, arma de guerr a

cont r a i nd genas, El Ti empo, J ul y 31, 1998.

4. Carl Henr i k Langebaek, En busca del Col ombi ano Perf ect o: El mest i zaj e se

convi r t i en una f orma de excl usi n soci al que an perdur a, Semana, Oct ober

30, 2006.

5. I n 1990 The Economi st named Col ombi a one of t he wor l d' s f i ve most cor r upt

count r i es ( Buenahora 1991, ci t ed i n Van Cot t 2000: 49) .

6. Mi guel Bor j a, "El Mi edo al I ndi o, " El Espect ador , May 8, 2000.

7. Bl anca Luc a Echever r y, no ti t l e, El Ti empo, Febr uary 12, 1998.

8. Si xto Al f r edo Pi nt o, Sangr e I nd gena Baj o dos Fuegos, El Ti empo,

November 1, 1998; J os Navi a, I nd genas, ent r e f uego cruzado, El Ti empo,

Febr uary 4, 1996.

9. Bi bi ana Mercado, " Est amos en el cent r o de una guerr a : I nd genas, El

Ti empo, November 21, 1993.

10. J os Lui s Val enci a, I nd genas prohi bi r n paso a act or es armados, El

Ti empo, May 16, 2001.

11. Vi ct or i a Neut a, member of t he oni c execut i ve commi t t ee i n char ge

of women' s i ssues 20052007, personal communi cat i on, November 2006.

12. But see Adri ana Espi nel , 6 muj eres asumen como gobernador as, 1011

13. Al var o Lpez Par do, No hay que ser Rambo par a r ecor r er el Amazonas,

El Espect ador , Apr i l 11, 1989.

El

Ti empo J anuar y 19, 2005.

14. Or l ando Henr quez, Barco t r aza bases para pol t i ca amazni ca, El

Espect ador, Apr i l 24, 1988. Al so see Lucy Ni eto de Samper , Mart n von

Hi l debr and, un Ant r opl ogo Dedi cado a l os Derechos de l a Comuni dad I nd gena,

El Ti empo, December 7, 2005.

15. Henr quez, Bar co t r aza bases par a pol t i ca amazni ca.

16. Henr quez, Barco t r aza bases para pol t i ca amazni ca. Al so see Edgar

Cadena, Col ombi a: L der de l a cuenca amazni ca?, El Ti empo, May 15, 1988.

1011AU: newspaper? done.


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17. Edmer Tovar , Barco y Garc a cumpl i eron una f unci n soci al con l os

the portrayal of colombian indigenous amazonian, jean jackson

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