Indigenous peoples from Peru, Ecuador and Colombia shared the Second International Meeting of Indigenous Guards

The meeting, organised by the Regional Organisation of Indigenous Guards of the Shipibo-Konibo People, which has guards formed in 23 communities and more than 600 members of the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people, was attended by the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo Council (COSHICOX), the Regional Organisation of AIDESEP in Ucayali (ORAU), the Regional Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Central Rainforest (ARPI SC), the Association of Ashaninka Nationalities of Peru (ANAP), the Indigenous Guard of the Kakataibo People of Peru, the Indigenous Guard of the Siekopai - Wajosa'ra Nationality, the Indigenous Guard of the Ai'Cofán Nationality of Sinangoe; the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) and the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC).

From the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people, delegations of Indigenous Guards from the communities of Nuevo Shetebo, Nuevo Canchahuaya, Nuevo Olaya, Puerto Adelina, Murunia and Paoyhan from the Contamana sector; Flor de Ucayali, Betania and Chanajao from the Callería sector participated; Santa Clara de Yarinacocha and Santa Teresita de laguna Cashibococha in the Yarinacocha sector; Caimito, Sol Naciente and Santa Rosa de Dinamarca in the Masisea sector; and Belén, Utucuro, Roya, Nueva Villa Sol, Runuya and Antiguo Ahuaypa de Iparía in the Iparía sector.

If the serene early mornings during the Encounter were impregnated with physical, mental and companionship training among the Guards, the mornings, afternoons and evenings were intense spaces for critical reflection on the current threats to their territories, as well as the primordial role of the Guards for social control and balance, with political, cultural and spiritual anchorage, exercising autonomy and self-determination as peoples.

Identity through their own symbols, autonomy and self-determination made practical by commanding - obeying, territoriality lived in the mountains, rivers and lakes, and solidarity with other struggles and peoples, were some of the principles that the Guards reaffirmed during their stay in Bakish Mai, where each one contributed from the depths of their memories, the lessons learned from their successes and mistakes.

 

“It is an experience of sharing with the peoples not only of Peru, but also of Ecuador and Colombia, in a sharing of territorial defence with the Guards. I take away with me the lesson of strength, and that the struggle is not a one-day struggle, but a generational one. This is the sharing that I take with me, and in this way I strengthen my Guard, my authorities and my people in the defence of our territory. If we propose and are willing, everything will work out well. All with unity between peoples,” Segundo Pino, commander of the Kakataibo Guard.

 

If one thing was also clear during the days of exchange, it was that the needs of internal work are more urgent than ever. Looking outward only limits the progress achieved by those who came before and clouds the horizons. Today, it is not only about looking at the forest concession or the protected area imposed without free, prior and informed consent. Nor is it just looking at the illegal loggers, fishers and miners who settle in some usurped community space and try to claim legitimacy, or just some perverse norm of a dying democracy. The Indigenous Guards emphasised the importance of dismembering, from a self-critical position, how these threats came to their territories, and what collective healing should be undertaken, in case there are community members of the same peoples involved in these activities.

In-depth reflections on strategies of struggle; gaining internal and external legitimacy; forms of recognition within the structures of the organised Indigenous movement and the relationship with local and national governments; the self-sustainability of territorial interventions and reducing the lack of logistics for patrols and evictions; medicinal plants and the knowledge behind them, which allow for spiritual and identity anchoring in territorial control actions; effective communication between the Guards; practices of social healing rather than punishment; the training processes through the Guards Schools; the predominant role of women and young people in the ranks of the Guards; the similarities between the various mechanisms of self-protection between peoples, and others, served the Indigenous Guards during the meeting to digest these complex horizons already achieved and still to be worked on, in the long struggle to confront the eco-social crisis of these times.

 

“I feel a sense of kinship because of this meeting where we are ready to continue fighting for what is ours, for our territories. Now there are more of us, and we must continue to expand the struggle to defend what is ours.” Marco Tulio Guimaraes, commander of the Shipibo-Konibo-Xetebo people's guard.