Science 10th grade LEARNING OBJECT LEARNING UNIT How do the Colombian indigenous communities transform their environment? How do we transform our planet? S/K List the different indigenous communities in Colombia. Ask about the political system within some indigenous communities. Describe the infrastructure built by the indigenous communities in Colombia. Analyze the current situation of the indigenous communities with regard to the policies of Colombian agro-industrial megaprojects. Learn about the world view of the Colombian indigenous communities and compare it to your own. Express opinions in writing and share them orally in present tense. Language English Socio cultural context of Colombia the LO Curricular axis Living Environment. Standard competencies Explain biological diversity as a result of environmental, genetic and dynamic relationship changes within ecosystems. Background Knowledge Recognize that the Colombian population is multicultural and consists of different ethnic groups, each of which has its own specific social, political and cultural rights. English Review topic Inhabitant: a person or animal that lives in a particular place. Watershed: the area of land that includes a particular river or lake and all the rivers, streams, etc. that flow into it. Monoculture: the cultivation or growth of a single crop or organism especially on agricultural or forest land. Vocabulary box Present tense NAME: _________________________________________________ GRADE: ________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Read the following dialog Indigenous child: Did you know that we humans come from the knee of the god Gútapa? White child: From the knee of God Gútapa? Indigenous child: Yes, one day Gútapa was taking a bath in the creek, and some wasps stung her in her knees, they swelled up and from there emerged Ipi and Yoi. White child: Who? Indigenous child: Well, the first humans. After them there were many more men that came out of one knee, and women for the other. White child: .... And what happened? Indigenous child: They grew, got married and formed clans. White child: I’ve never heard that before. They taught me something else. Indigenous child: This story is part of the Ticuna oral tradition, my traditions. White child: Oral tradition? The stories I know are written Indigenous child: Oral tradition is very important in our culture; that is the way the elders share their knowledge. White child: That is very interesting! I see that in spite of the fact that you and I are Colombians, we have different knowledge and beliefs. Indigenous child: Yes, that is why it is said that Colombia is a multicultural country in which there are many indigenous peoples. White child: Ah! And also Afro-Colombians, Gypsies and people like me, without ethnicity. Indigenous children: Exactly, we are all Colombians!! White child: …and we can all respectfully learn from the culture of others. Now answer: What Indigenous groups do you know and what do you think we can learn from them? How do you think your culture influence other ethnic groups? OBJECTIVES 1. To compare and contrast different ways through which the Colombian indigenous communities change their environment. 2. To expose orally and in writing the different relations the indigenous communities in Colombia have with the environment and other cultures. 3. To be interested in the knowledge and traditions that the Colombian indigenous communities have. ACTIVITY 1 Skill 1: List the different indigenous communities in Colombia. Skill 2: Ask about the political system within some indigenous communities. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN COLOMBIA The Colombian population is the product of a varied miscegenation, where cultures and traditions of American, European and African people have mixed. There are three ethnic sectors: Afro-Colombian populations, the ROM people or gypsy, and indigenous peoples. However, the 85.94% of the Colombian population has no ethnic affiliation (DANE, 2007). The recognized indigenous peoples represent 3.43% of the total population. There are 87 recognized indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples have 64 Amerindian languages and different dialects which are grouped into 13 linguistic families. The departments where half of the indigenous population is located are: La Guajira, Cauca and Nariño (DANE, 2007). Indigenous peoples are also distributed in Guainía, Vaupes, Amazonas and Vichada. In total they occupy 7% of the Colombian territory. The most representative indigenous people by the amount of its inhabitants are: the Sicuani, Curripako, Tucano, Pijao, Uva, the Nasa, Embera, Pastos, Guambianos, Wayúu, Senú and Arhuaco (UNICEF, 2003). INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF COLOMBIA Locate the different indigenous peoples on the map. Indigenous people of Colombia Figure 1. Representation of the geographical location of the different indigenous peoples of Colombia (UNHCR, 2016). Exercise 1 On the map of Colombia, locate the indigenous peoples that are listed in the following table. Political map of Colombia Figure 2. Representation of the thirty-two departments of Colombia (Valenzuela, 2015). Table 1. Indigenous people of Colombia Indigenous Department people Wayuu Guajira Kogui Guajira Kankuamo Cesar Arhuaco Cesar Mokana Atlántico Yuco Cesar Muisca Cundin. Zenú Córdoba Embera Katío Chocó Embera Chocó Guane Santander Sikuani Meta Curripaco Guainía Pijao Tolima Paez-Nasa Cauca Guambianos Cauca Pastos Nariño Awa Nariño Kamsá Putumayo Huitoto Caquetá Yurutí Vaupés Barasana Vaupés Makú Amazonas Ticuna Amazonas POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES Indigenous peoples have their own system of governance and its own institutional structure. These institutions have the ability to interact with the national, regional and municipal government structure, and have the right to participate in the decisions of the country. The success or failure of these communities depends on these interactions. The central elements of the indigenous governance are the traditional authorities, whose social organization is based on kinship, consanguinity and affinity relationships. These authorities do not centralize political power and fulfill (same as the others) daily activities such as food production and house building. The highest traditional authorities, according to the indigenous people, have several names like: mamo, cacique, curaca and shaman. They pass down ancestral knowledge, but do not tell the people what they should do, except if they are in danger or in an emergency. They lead the decision making by means of collective dialogs. Some have leaders or assistants that aid in different functions. Family is the economic and production nucleus within indigenous people. Activities within the families are arranged according to sex and age. Marriages or unions play an important role based on certain standards, which are the ones who will determine the social organizational system (Territorio Indígena y Gobernanza, 2016). Did you know? Currently there are both traditional and modern authorities in most of the indigenous communities. The modern authorities are also composed of indigenous communities, but unlike traditional authorities, they base their actions on the legal framework set by the State. Modern authorities tend to devote themselves solely to their tasks as such authority; they are elected by vote and represent the community in order to accomplish what was proposed in the assemblies. Decisions made by this authority are taken by vote. Cabildos are an example of this special public entity (Territorio Indígena y Gobernanza, 2016) (Mininterior, 2013). INDIGENOUS SOCIO-POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS The Kankuama, located in Cesar, as well as the groups in the Sierra Nevada have as the highest social and magic-religious authority the Mamo. Furthermore, they are politically affiliated to the Kankuama Indigenous Organization (OIK) which is a council that represents them administrative and legally. The Curripaco, located in the department of Guainia, are traditionally organized in five groups linked to a mythical territory, and are organized by family units (such as brothers and cousins with their wives); they may have marriage alliances with the Puinave, Kubeo and Piapoco, and the authority is the Captain (which also exercises as a protestant pastor). In the Pastos of Nariño, the Taita is the authority and is the one that manages the interests of the community. The council governor is the authority for the Pastos that live in the reservations. The family is the axis of social organization. To select a partner, they take into account the prestige that person would bring them. The Awa, in Nariño, do not have a specific authority, reason why principles and punishments play an important role. Their regional organization goes under the name Indigenous Union of the Awa People (UNIPA), for the purpose of reclaiming their territories and the creation of reservations (Martinez, 2016). Exercise 1 Define whether the following statements about the socio-political organizations of the indigenous peoples are true or false, and justify your answer. 1. The central elements of the indigenous governance are the traditional authorities, which are elected by popular vote. ( ) 2. The traditional authorities make decisions according to their own criteria and then make an announcement to the community. ( ) 3. The council or cabildo is a public institution whose members are natives and its function is to legally represent the community. The Kaukama use this method. ( ) 4. The Awa natives do not have a specific