Tierra Aliwa
Protecting Indigenous rights, ancestral lands and the (bio)diversity they contain
About Tierra Aliwa
Tierra Aliwa is a collaboration between Human Conet, the Gobierno Mayor – Indigenous Traditional Authorities of Colombia, and the community of Aliwa Cupepe.
Our goal is to obtain the collective title to the land of Aliwa, a territory of 90’000 hectares, gateway to the Amazonian jungle.
Our strategy combines legal and audiovisual means in order to mobilize civil society and protect the fundamental rights of the people living in Aliwa.
The Team
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Legal
Precautionary measures and a legal petition are being addressed to the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights.
"There used to be only indigenous people living here...
They are all buried somewhere in this land."
Upeko, Comunidad de Arizona, Aliwa
The case of Aliwa
In 1975, the Sikuani people living in Aliwa Cupepe were forcibly displaced from their lands.
Many indigenous leaders were kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, threatened, tortured and killed…
- 1975 - Arrival of settlers in the region
- 1998 - First attempt to obtain the collective title to the land of Aliwa
- 2013 - The Colombian Constitutional Court orders the delivery of the land title within 6 months
- 2019 - The case is brought to the InterAmerican commission on Human Rights
"They arrived in front of me, the whites, the thugs,
and took ownership of this territory."
Upeko, Comunidad de Arizona, Aliwa
The Sikuanis
The Sikuanis are one of Colombia’s nearly 100 officially recognized indigenous peoples.
Traditionally a semi-nomadic society, many Sikuani clans have been violently displaced far from their lands.
Natives of the Guaviare region – a gateway to the Amazon jungle – they continue to suffer some of the worst consequences of Colombia’s 53 years old conflict.
"They are the protectors of the forests.
They are spirits, spirits of the earth, spirits of the jungle."
Upeko, Comunidad de Arizona, Aliwa
Aliwa Cupepe
Aliwa Cupepe is an ancestral land located in the municipality of Cumaribo, Vichada.
Standing in the middle of the savannas of Altillanura and the jungles of the Amazon, this territory is home to the sacred forest of Aliwa and its incredible biodiversity.
According to Sikuani cosmovision, this forest was born out of the roots of a tree called Kaliewirnae, where are buried the gods Tsamani, Matsuludani, Iwarruaba and Kuwei.
This tree represents a source of life which preserves the fertility and bravery of the Sikuani people.
Of human diversity comes from tribal cultures
Of global biodiversity is found in their territories
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