The Cauca is one of the prime regions torn by war between the Colombian military and the FARC guerilla group. The rural population, mostly of Indigenous descent, are the most dramatically hit by armed confrontations. In response to the unprovoked killings

The FARC (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is the country’s longest-standing and largest rebel group and one of the world’s richest guerrilla armies. Founded by Manuel “Sureshot” Marulanda in 1964, its mission was to overthrow the gover

We want to teach our children to be part of this struggle. Alex Bilordo

Sometimes we feel powerless, but sometimes we are filled with courage and we put aside the fear to release the images. Gearo Trochez

This is the story of a communications network and its efforts to bridge the communication gap of the Paez people, also known as the Nasa, who live in the southwestern highlands of Colombia.



Based in the rugged state of Cauca, the Tejido de Comunicación is a group of journalists, editors, video makers and coordinators who are recognized as the best alternative media source in the country. Their leitmotif: to give Indigenous peoples a voice and to inform communities about issues affecting them. They...

15,600 hectares of land were promised to the Nasa people decades ago but never actually transferred.
1,000 riot police officers evicted almost 300 indigenous NASA members from a sugar cane plantation that they had peacefully reclaimed

TAGUIDE PICANERAI



Originating from the Chaco region of Paraguay, Taguide Picanerai is the director of an indigenous organization and Paraguay’s first Ayoreo to attend university. A direct descendant of the uncontacted Ayoreo who traditionally lived in dense forest stretching from Paraguay to Bolivia and Argentina, Taguide works with his father – chief of the Chaidi community - to prevent contact with the remaining uncontacted members. Based in the village of Chaidi, Taguide and his group represe...

UNCONTACTED TRIBES: The most vulnerable people on earth



Uncontacted tribes are communities who have little to no contact with the outside world. According to FUNAI, there are 77 groups of uncontacted people who mostly live in the depths of the forest in South America, New Guinea and India. In the very rare event that they are encountered, the isolated groups make it clear that they want to be left alone. Regions currently inhabited by uncontacted tribes are under great threat from oil exploration a...

THE AYOREO: A forest-dwelling tribe facing serious danger



The Ayoreo are a native ethnic group living in the Chaco region, an area of dense, scrubby forest spanning Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. Meaning “true people” in their native tongue, the Ayoreo are composed of around 5,600 members that are divided into sub-groups. They speak the Ayoero language, classified under Zamucoan, a small language family from Paraguay and Bolivia.



The usurpation of Ayoreo territory over the past century h...

DEFORESTATION: The greatest threat to the isolated Ayoreo

There is immense pressure on the forest inhabited by the Ayoreo people. In 2013, a report from University of Maryland revealed that the Paraguayan Chaco has the fastest deforestation rate in the

THE ARRIVAL OF THE MENNONITES: A painful experience for the Ayoreo

The Ayoreo remained largely uncontacted until the arrival of the Mennonites in the 1920s from the Ukraine, Russia, Canada and Mexico. They were invited by the Paraguayan president to ta

THE NEW TRIBES MISSION: Forced contact results in disease and death



New Tribes Mission (NTM) is an international, evangelical Christian mission organization consisting of around 3,300 born-again believers spread over more than 20 countries. Set up by Paul Fleming in 1942, this Florida-based group has penetrated hundreds of Indian communities across the world in an attempt to “reach the lost” and convert them. The organization has been condemned as one of the key perpetrators of crimes against t...

ILO Conventions 107 and 169: The first international laws to address Indigenous land ownership

Indigenous peoples’ territories are being stolen all around the world. When Indigenous or tribal groups lose their land, their societies disintegrate and i

Paraguay's Chaco Forest

Fastest deforestation rate in the world with more than 400 hectares bulldozed each day,

Mother land of the last 300 forest-dwelling Ayoreo.

We hope that our Indigenous brothers outside of our country join our fight, which belongs to all Indigenous people.
- Taguide Picanerai

I think we should embrace two cultures. We already have our Ayoreo education, but to stand up in the outside world, we must take non-indigenous studies in the city.
- Taguide Picanerai