Recovering the Land to Recover Everything: the Misak People and Participatory Surveys

Recovering the Land to Recover Everything: the Misak People and Participatory Surveys

Written on 24 December 2025. Posted in News

BY MAURICIO MARTÍNEZ FOR INDIGENOUS DEBATES

In the upper heights of the Central Andes mountain range, the Misak community of the Guambía Reserve (Silvia - Cauca) and the Ovejas Council (Caldono - Cauca) implemented data collection using a participatory methodology as part of the Indigenous Navigator project, exercising their self-determination to deliver their own data. The Indigenous Navigator portal contains the data uploaded by the Misak, which is enabling their international recognition and the establishment of dialogue with other Indigenous communities, promoting support for global human rights organizations.

The implementation of the Indigenous Navigator with the Misak community of the Guambía Reserve, Colombia, is contributing to recognition of their cultural identity and their autonomous data management by integrating their language and worldview into the survey and guaranteeing that their own delegates are the ones who review and validate the information and comments before publication in the portal.

Through participatory methodologies, the communities themselves led the process, generating key information for planning and political advocacy based on their priorities. The tool allowed them to raise the international profile of their reality and consolidate strategic alliances. In addition, they promoted a community project to improve the water system in an important area of their territory. During this process, traditional practices such as the minga and the use of the Talking Map were revived. This has reaffirmed their autonomy and capacity for self-management in the face of external development models.

Ancestral Self-Recognition of the Misak People

The Guambía Reserve is located in the department of Cauca, in south-western Colombia, in the upper heights of the Central Andes mountain range. This territory represents only a fraction of the former ancestral Pubenence territory, today claimed by the Misak as an historical subject and the basis for the construction of a new universal narrative, rooted in their collective memory.

Misak, in Namtrik Namuy Wan (the Misak language), means "people". The shures and shuras (elders) manage the category of being misak misak, that is, the relationship of human people with the people of nature. This relationship brings us to another category that contains everything: the nupirauk or territory, which includes the cosmos, the soil and the subsoil.

The foundation of their ancestral wisdom comes from the teachings of the natural order: from the language of the nupirauk, by which the identitary principles of the Misak people have been governed. These principles are expressed in community values, such as lata-lata (mutual aid), mayailai (abundance for all) and alik-minga (festive community work).

During the times of the republic, even though they did not enjoy rights and nor were they recognized in the National Constitution, the struggle for the recovery of part of their usurped territory led the Misak to legislate for themselves in their territory. In the same vein, in the 1980s, they called on the Indigenous and non-indigenous people of Colombia to envision a possible world governed by mutual respect: "Recover the land to recover everything. It is ours and yours too."

Intercultural Dialogue: a Driving Force for Initiating Surveys

The initial relationship between the Misak people and the Indigenous Navigator was the fruit of a connection established in 2020 between the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) and the Ala Kusrei Ya Misak University (Casa Minga de Pensamiento), through the ARTE + Foundation. This collaboration focused on creating communication materials with the collective participation of Misak students and teachers, and "allies" (non-indigenous people supporting the Indigenous struggle).

Of the productions to emerge from this cooperation, the radio documentary "Walking from Guambía, the Puben Territory" is particularly noteworthy. This was made up of four chapters that have been used as study materials by a group of young Misak people. Likewise the animation "Walking the Memory" a collective creation based on the writing of Taita Abelino Dagua, Raíz y retoño; the podcast on the 10 years of the Ala Kusrei Ya Misak University (spoken in Namtrik Namuy Wan); and the documentary film Piwam Mera (Voices of the Water) produced with the participation of Misak elders - water sowers, traditional (spiritual) doctors, midwives, seed collectors and the local governor-.

In May 2023, the Indigenous Navigator proposal "Towards the full and effective recognition and realization of the rights of Indigenous Peoples" was publicized. The meeting was attended by the authorities of the Guambía Reserve, representatives of IWGIA and the ARTE + Foundation. Through a frank and direct dialogue, the purpose and scope of the community survey was discussed in depth and approved for uploading to the Indigenous Navigator platform.

The Misak authorities expressed a deep interest in the project: they recognized its potential to raise the profile of their history internationally, strengthen alliances with other Indigenous communities and gain the support of human rights organizations globally. It was also agreed that the survey should be implemented in Ovejas Kaltunk Chak and in the municipality of Caldono (Cauca), given that this Misak community has been suffering ongoing violations of its right to establish its territory as a reserve.

Participatory Methodology, own Language and Collective Reflection

It was first agreed to use the focus group methodology, selecting local representatives and zonal authorities with experience of the issues to be addressed. The Tatas governors appointed Mama Nancy Tumiñá as general coordinator, who led the process with the support of three community members. The four leaders were trained on the structure of the survey and the methodology for collecting the information and the concluding comments.

During the training process, the importance of using namtrik namuy wam (the Misak's own language) became evident as it would ensure a more active, deep and comfortable participation by the respondents. It was also agreed to form four groups on the first day so that each group could respond to different topics in the survey. The next day, coming together in an assembly, the answers given in each group would be reviewed and approved collectively. Each member of the coordinating team took on the responsibility of facilitating one of the four thematic groups.

One of the most significant reflections arose in response to the question on poverty, based on international standards. The collective response of the Misak communities, both in Guambía and Ovejas Kaltun Chak, was forceful: "The question does not correspond to what we have learned from our elders. These categories do not align with our thinking. We do not live in poverty: we are a dignified people. We plant our vegetable gardens or yatules on the small plots of land we have. We are a cornered people who are unable to fully develop our talents or our economy. So we are a people fighting for our rights."

Community Validation

After processing and validating the data with the help of the ARTE+ team, the information collected through the surveys served as the basis for a summary that was disseminated across the Guambía territory. This work was done by consultant Diana Mendoza, who has extensive knowledge of the Indigenous Navigator Initiative and who conducted the national survey on Colombia.

The dissemination of the summary coincided with the handover between the 2023 and 2024 council authorities, thus enabling the involvement of new representatives and their contributions. Here, disagreement was expressed over government projects that have taken place on their territory, designing plans without community participation and with unjustified results. One of the main findings deriving from the data collection was the issue of water distribution in one of the areas with the greatest impact on the community, identified as a priority need.

This is how the Misak coordinator put it: "There are plenty of workshops, training sessions and so on, but no materials. How can we meet our needs if there are no materials? For example, the pipeline: we want to improve the aqueducts, but we don't have enough resources." To this concern was added the testimony of a recently elected representative: "The engineer built the intake pipe right where people, motorcycles and cattle pass. He didn't think about the community, he only thought about fulfilling the contract. Now we have to drink dirty water."

Expansion of the Water Network

In response to these concerns, and with the assistance of an ARTE+ adviser, the environmental committee and the Tatas council governors, a technical project was designed to increase the flow in the water network from three to six inches and to reforest the watercourse that supplies the reservoir tank. This project was submitted to the Indigenous Navigator and received support through a small grant from the European Union. Given the possibility of providing a solution to this felt need on the part of the community, the Council of Guambía undertook to co-finance the work with the resources and community work of the minga.

This intervention has benefited four villages and several community institutions, including the Town Hall, the Misak University, the Sierra Morena Medicinal Plants Centre and the cemetery. Finally, the Mama Manuela school, which was not included in the plan, also joined the network. The project was initiated under the leadership of the Tatas governors for the 2023 term and concluded with its handover to the community by the Mama governor elected for the 2024 term.

In the Guambía territory, in December 2024, a day of advocacy took place with the support of the Indigenous Navigator project. The activity involved the participation of State entities attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and was aimed at jointly constructing a strategic roadmap. This roadmap, aimed at improving food autonomy, proposes: the recovery and return of native and creole seeds, as well as the promotion of livestock reconversion and backyard production systems. As a result, agreements were signed with the Ministry, and these will begin implementing actions focused on seed recovery and technical assistance in 2025, with plans to develop sustainable livestock and backyard components by 2026. As we go to press, the Ministry of Agriculture is being sued for failure to comply with the agreement.

Finally, the Indigenous Navigator experience enabled the Misak people to participate in a recent meeting of peoples of Abya Yala where they were able to share experiences and proposals with delegations from the Mapuche (Chile), Wampis, Asháninka and Quechua Nation (Peru), Morelos (Mexico), Kichwa of the Anzu River (Ecuador), Salinas de Lomerío (Bolivia) and Wayúu (Colombia) peoples. It has thus fulfilled a part of the objectives set and left open the possibility of keeping the survey feedback active.

Mauricio Martínez is the director of Fundación ARTE +, a popular media communicator, folk musician, audiovisual producer and supporter of Indigenous struggles since 1980.

Cover photo: Presentation of the Talking Map at the Guambía Leaders' School. Photo: Laura Carrillo Patau

Tags: Indigenous Debates