The A'ingae or Cofan Indigenous Peoples of Amazonian Ecuador and Impacts from Oil Development

The A’ingae or Cofan Indigenous Peoples of Amazonian Ecuador

The indigenous peoples inhabiting the Concession region of Amazonian Ecuador have been deeply impacted by oil-drilling activities.

The A’ingae or Cofan Nation

The A’ingae, or Cofan people, have lived between the Aguarico and Guamués rivers for centuries, long before the foundation of the Republics of Ecuador and Colombia, from the Azuela river up to the middle section of the Aguarico basin, and up to present-day Puerto Asís. The Cofan territory was next to the communities of the Siona and Tetetes nations. Long ago, the Cofan people amounted to 15,000 inhabitants, and now, according to the information of the Federation of the Cofan Nation of Ecuador, there are only 162 families with a total of 849 people.

According to CODENPE (Consejo de Desarrollo de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos del Ecuador – Council for the Development of Ecuador’s Peoples and Nations), Ecuador’s Cofan Nation is now in the province of Sucumbios, on the Aguarico river and in the middle section of the Dureno and Cuyabeno river basins; the main settlements are Dovino, Dureno, Sinangüe, Chandia Na’en and Zábalo.


Impacts from oil-drilling generally fall within three broad categories: territory, food, and cultural traditions.

Initiation of oil operations forced these peoples to migrate from their ancestral lands, for fear of the cusmas (the Cofans’ name for the mestizo and white people) and also due to the impacts they suffered as a consequence of the alteration of the ecosystem, which affected fishing and hunting activities in the areas near the oil production facilities.

Until the end of the 1960s, the Cofan (were) settled where the Teteye and Orienco rivers flowed into the Aguarico river. According to Prof. Silvio Chapal, “we, the Cofan, used to live with our families in the estuary of rivers Teteye and Orienco. Suddenly, strangers began to arrive in our lands; they began to fell the forests and some days later the water flowing in the river became totally black, fish started to die and also the animals drinking that water died. This is why the Cofan living in the estuary of rivers Teteye and Orienco had no choice but to leave that place and move to the present-day Cofan Dureno District.” Testimonies like this can be found from every surveyed nation.

Several Cofan families grouped together in the present-day Cofan Dureno District, to escape the impact(s) of oil-related activities. In the beginning of the 1970s, companies began to drill the Dureno 01 well, which was within the Cofan Dureno District. Upon seeing that their land was being affected once again, the Cofan initiated procedures to obtain from the State the legal certification of ownership of at least part of their territory, so that by 1974 they would own the title deed for the Cofan Dureno District, and their land would be safe. A few years later, oil companies started drilling Guanta’s wells; one of those wells, Guanta 08, was located in the very heart of the Cofan Dureno District. Today, the Cofan Dureno District, the heart of the Cofan Nation, is surrounded by tens of oil wells and hundreds of newly arrived farmers. The resultant scarcity of territory necessary for this nation’s survival led the elders to conquer other lands. This is why, in the late ‘90s they finally migrated in order to create a district in the “Zábalo” area, more than 100 km away from the Cofan Dureno District. This new territory had ancestrally belonged to the Secoya Nation, but luckily these two nations agreed to share the territory.

Two main factors threaten indigenous nations, (especially those inhabiting the tropical rainforests): the loss of biological diversity, which deteriorates the material basis of their survival, and the loss of cultural diversity, which weakens their values and social structure. Ecuador’s north eastern indigenous peoples’ subsistence activities used to consist of hunting, fishing and picking up products in the forests, which were once the main sources of food. This traditional practice, along with virgin forests, have been reduced by the constant expansion of new oilfields, and the construction of roads, thus making the ancestral and original indigenous communities the greatest victims of the impact of the oil exploitation processes in Amazonia.

During oil-drilling operations there were hundreds of oil spills; most of that crude oil flowed into water sources. Additionally, wastewater spilled from production stations was dumped into the same superficial sources of water, thus altering the ichthyologic (fish) life of rivers.

Cofan Dureno District, after being moved from the estuary of the Teteye and Orienco rivers, was affected by the waste dumped from Guanta Station. Ancestral indigenous peoples were affected by the spillages and waste that contaminated the Aguarico River, which was the area's main river.

The effects of toxic waste from oil activities were compounded by the influence of the arriving farming communities. These farming communities came from the Costa region or the Sierra of Ecuador and, in order to find food to secure their subsistence, have turned to the few remaining wild animals, thus triggering a slaughter. The arrival of these farmers might have been encouraged by the Farming Communities Act as well as by the existence of new roads built by the oil companies. All these factors have dramatically reduced the availability of food for these ancestral indigenous peoples, forcing them to implement new ways to cultivate the land that they had not previously known.

Traditionally, the Cofan grouped together in large families of three or four generations. In many cases in-law relatives were included (like sons in-law or daughters in-law), as were orphans who were adopted as sons or daughters. Changes brought about by a more modern pattern have led to different family sizes, paving the way for the spreading of the nuclear family. Within the community, the community’s central chief has traditionally been a clan chief, who is always a shaman with a long-standing and recognized background and who holds a prestigious image in front of the whole community. The Cofans’ social and political life centers on a particular way of understanding the world, different from western rationality. Such a worldview encompasses the existence of a god, Chiga: who is the creator of the universe and the worlds in it, the creator of men and animals, and the one establishing certain social forms of behavior.

The mythological structure underneath the Cofan religious framework is common to all the cultures of the tropical rainforests. According to these structures, animals, in the beginning, were men, but Chiga converted them into different kinds of animals according to their individual characteristics. Each species has a master or lord. These are spirits who generally show negative attitudes toward men. Shamans, after consuming yagé, can communicate with them. The shaman has always represented authority, the exemplar being, the head of every Cofan clan under study.

Numerous accounts are given by local groups in which alcohol consumption and contact with oil workers were related; there were cases when alcoholic drinks were exchanged for game, and alcohol consumption was stimulated. The Cofan and Secoya groups provided some accounts of episodes when alcohol consumption was promoted, later leading to abuses including cases of sexual abuse. In one of the communities, numerous assertions were collected about how alcohol consumption resulted in the death of a Cofan shaman as a consequence of an episode encouraged by oil workers. According to the accounts of the community and of an eyewitness, that incident was intentional.

Apart from the enormous cultural impact of those losses, this and other episodes and actions show that the introduction of alcohol had been intentional and was not the simple outcome of cultural-contact processes. 85.5% of interviewees think alcohol affected them fairly or largely (40.3% and 45.5%, respectively), while only 14.2% think it affected them a little or not at all (8.7%, and 5.5%, respectively).

Other factors have also affected these peoples’ traditions and habits. For example, American Evangelical missions arrived in Ecuador in the 1950s and set up their campsites in the northern area of the Ecuadorian Amazonia, very close to the Siona, Secoya, Cofan and Huaraorani territories. The linguistic interests of these missionaries were represented by the ILV (Summer Linguistic Institute), but underneath there lay some added interests: on the one hand, they had to evangelize the masses scattered throughout Amazonia, and on the other hand, there was an overall transformation of the traditional lifestyle these indigenous peoples’ had lived for centuries. It is surprising to hear the Cofan, Siona or Secoya elders’ accounts that the ILV missionaries, using their command of English, Spanish and the traditional language of each indigenous people, became the interlocutors between these peoples and oil technicians.

According to certain authors, the arrival of the ILV was crucial for facilitating oil exploration, and exploitation, in northern Amazonia.

Conclusions

The territory, food supply and cultural traditions of the indigenous people inhabiting the Concession region were affected by oil-related activities.

Oil workers broke into the territory of the Concession without its ancestral inhabitants’ consent in order to perform tasks, which led those inhabitants to gradually withdraw to smaller parcels of land. Shortly after these lands were emptied of their indigenous inhabitants, they were occupied by newly arrived farmers coming from different provinces. This process of settlement was promoted by the Ecuadorian government of the time, but it would not have succeeded without the presence and infrastructure of the oil industry.

As the farmers’ presence in the Concession region increased, so did deforestation and hunting.

Spillage of waste waters and/or crude oil into rivers, marshes or swamps automatically affected the traditional eating habits of the indigenous people inhabiting the Concession region.

The presence of oil workers, alcohol consumption, the presence of ILV missionaries, and especially the impact on the ecosystem, strongly affected the traditions and habits of indigenous people.

The impact of the oil activity has been deep, and some of the affected groups, such as the Tagaeri and the Taromenane, chose voluntary isolation. They survive in the inaccessible area south of Parque Yasuní, and are threatened today by the arrival of Petrobrás, a Brazilian company.

Related Article: The Huaraorani or Wuaraorani Indigenous Peoples of Ecuador: Impacts Due to Oil Production.

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December 17-23, 2008: Five Key Indigenous Peoples Issues

Five Important Indigenous People's Issues for the Week of December 17 - 23, 2008


Canada: Climate Change - Arctic Is the Canary in the Coalmine

Nearly 1,000 scientists and representatives of indigenous peoples from 16 countries have braved a major winter storm to share their findings and concerns about the rapidly warming Arctic region at the International Arctic Change conference in Quebec City.

The Arctic is "ground zero" for climate change, with temperatures rising far faster than anywhere else on the planet. Some predict an ice-free summer Arctic in less than five to 10 years -- the first time the Arctic Ocean will be exposed to the sun in many hundreds of thousands of years.

The speed of change has scientists scrambling to understand the impacts on indigenous people, wildlife and ecology.

"The Arctic will be full of future surprises," said David Carlson, an oceanographer and director of the International Polar Year programme office.

"Protected by its cover of sea ice, the Arctic Ocean is the last unblemished ocean on the planet," Carlson told IPS.

The loss of the ice, the thermal blanket that keeps the Arctic region cold, will have huge impacts on the weather in the northern hemisphere. The difference in temperatures between the polar regions and the tropical regions is what drives the planet's weather. A warmer Arctic means storm tracks and precipitation patterns will shift all across the middle of North America, Europe and Asia, he said.

"The extraordinary attendance from all over the circumpolar world illustrates the urgency of coordinating action to face the impacts of warming and modernisation in the Arctic, said Louis Fortier, scientific director of ArcticNet, a Canadian research network and host of the International Arctic Change conference. Read more about climate change in Canada here....


Australia: The Big Read - The 2008 NIT Blacklist

2008 was a year of highs and lows for Aboriginal Australia. The high was, undoubtedly, the national apology in February. But the lows were... well, take your pick. The federal government's failure to endorse the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, its handling of the NT intervention, the NT government's axing of the bilingual education program. And the list goes on. In no particular order, AMY McQUIRE and CHRIS GRAHAM take a look at 101 of the 'less impressive' moments of 2008.

1. In November, NT Deputy Chief Minister Marion Scrymgour, who is the most senior Indigenous politician in the country, announced that English would be taught in the first four hours of the school day in bilingual schools, effectively ending bilingual education in the NT. All of the available evidence - both in Australia and internationally - shows that bi-lingual education is the best way to teach children whose first language is not English. The NT government's decision to abolish it will undoubtedly lead to poorer literacy outcomes, and reduced school attendance among Aboriginal students.

2. Federally, Labor promised to make the "protection, preservation and revitalisation" of Indigenous languages a "major priority".

3. Kevin Rudd's sorry speech inspired a nation. Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson's speech in reply did not. And nor did the conduct of quite a few of his Liberal colleagues. About 1,000 people listening to Nelson's speech in the Great Hall of Parliament stood and turned their backs on him, including two of Rudd's own staffers. Why? Because Nelson seemed to mistakenly think the day was all about him and his own troubled childhood. He also thought it was about reminding everyone of child abuse in Central Australia.

4. Member for O'Connor, Wilson Tuckey couldn't help himself either. After loudly reciting the Lord's Prayer, Tuckey walked out of the chamber and boycotted the apology.

Read the rest of the NIT list here....


Brazil: Ruling Puts Brazil Closer to Creating a Large Indigenous Reserve

Brazil’s Supreme Court this week appeared to pave the way for the creation of a huge indigenous reserve in the Amazon that is larger than the state of Connecticut but home to only 19,000 Indians.

In a vote being closely watched by environmentalists and by advocates for the rights of indigenous people, 8 of 11 judges on the court voted Wednesday to uphold President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s creation of the Raposa Serra do Sol reserve, which runs along the Venezuelan border in the northern Brazilian state of Roraima.

The reserve would be one of the largest protected indigenous areas in the world. It has set off a sharp controversy over property rights, the limits of government authority and the rights of Indians to their original lands.

The reserve was decreed by Mr. da Silva’s government in 2005 after a legal battle of more more than 20 years. At more than four million acres, it encompasses about 42 percent of Roraima State and is 11 times bigger than the city of São Paulo.

The Supreme Court suspended the enactment of its ruling indefinitely after one judge, Marco Aurélio Mello, said he needed more time to consider his decision. The court needs only a majority to approve the measure.

The suspension seemed to lower tensions that had been mounting in the territory in recent days, as Indians and farmers both threatened violence before the court’s vote.

Justice Minister Tarso Genro sounded a conciliatory note, saying in televised comments on Thursday that the confirmation of a majority of judges was not a victory of Indians over non-Indians, but rather a reaffirmation of a policy meant to protect the rights of Indian communities “without giving up the sovereignty of national territory.” Read more about Brazil's landmark ruling here....


Argentina: Bringing Films and Filmmaking to Indigenous Communities

With the assistance of experts from Bolivia, indigenous communities in the northeastern Argentine province of Chaco are learning how to make films, as a means of helping the rest of the world understand their way of life and the problems they face.

"Just as indigenous people once adopted writing, which allowed others to get to know us, we now want to make use of this new tool to help people learn about us," Juan Chico, a historian from the Qom (Toba) indigenous community in Chaco, told IPS.

"Whites tend to show images that cast us in a negative light," said Chico, who took part in a recent workshop for indigenous people interested in learning about filmmaking. "For example, in the Chaco provincial government building, there are photos of malnourished indigenous people taken without the subject’s permission. Perhaps the aim is to awaken pity. But no one ever shows that there also excellent writers, musicians and artists among us."

The idea arose this year in the Under-Secretariat of Culture in Chaco, one of Argentina’s poorest provinces. The provincial population of around one million people includes 60,000 members of the Qom, Mocoví and Wichí indigenous groups, who have their own leaders and institutions that represent them.

Most of the population of northern Argentina is "mestizo" -- of mixed European and indigenous origin. Read more about indigenous filmmaking in Argentina here....


Mexico: Indigenous Groups Keep Ancient Sports Alive in Mexico

Athletes file onto the field carrying a mystifying array of sporting tools: tree trunks, gourds, dried palm fronds and balls made of woven cornstalk.
These aren't your typical ballplayers.

Instead of jerseys and spandex, the girls wear brilliant white dresses embroidered with purple and red flowers; the boys wear the track suits of yore: loose-fitting pants made of flowing cotton.

Five centuries after the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, soccer is the premier sport of Latin America. But dedicated indigenous groups and aficionados are trying to keep alive the ancient sports of the Americas.

"We have 4,000 years of history in Mexico, and these games connect us to that," said Alida Zurita Bocanegra, president of the Mexican Association of Traditional and Autoctonous Games and Sports . "Globalization is permeating us, and that's why it's so important at this moment to revive the roots that give us identity."

Once a year, supporters of the ancient sports stage an exhibition of games like pash pash, corozo, garabato and kuachancaca. In November, they came to Villahermosa, a humid, lowland capital in southern Mexico's Tabasco state that was once home to the Olmec, an ancient civilization that predates the Maya.

Organizers hope to keep the sports from dying off, as have a number of indigenous languages and traditions in the modern age. Their goal is to teach the games in schools and arrange tournaments among indigenous groups from around the country.
King of the pre-Hispanic sports scene was "ballgame," a fiendishly difficult game played on a court in which a 9-pound rubber ball is moved along with the hip or thigh — something like volleyball without a net.

Once the continent's dominant sport, a version of the game was played by both the Mayans and the Aztecs. Read more about indigenous sports in Mexico here....


Last weeks Five Key Indigenous People's Issues can be found here.

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Indigenous Peoples Education: News from the World Conference in Melbourne

Shaping the Future of World Indigenous Education is an update on the World Indigenous Peoples' Conference: Education, held in Melbourne last week. This post comes from friend Kevin Rennie over at the Labor View From Bayside blog.

Last week 3000 delegates from around the world shared their experiences at The World Indigenous Peoples' Conference: Education at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. There has been little coverage by the mainstream media and surprisingly little activity in the global blogosphere that I’m aware of.

Carbon Media produced excellent video for National Indigenous TV (NITV) that is available at Black Tracks. Their 5 episodes include interviews with leading keynote speakers and conference delegates. A sample of the video interviews:

Black Tracks Melbourne Vodcast Episode 1 from Carbon Media.

Read more about the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education here.

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