OUR STORY
The mission of the Arhuaco people is to care for the natural balance of Mother Earth.
We are all children of creation
Our ancestral territory is like a book.
Each child has a different calling. Our calling is to understand that humans do not sit on top of the hierarchy of life. In fact, we need the stones and the trees and the water, but they do not need us.
We find strength in maintaining the traditions we have always had. This information comes from the same original instructions that taught the birds how to make their nests.
Our ancestral territory is like a book. We read the messages codified in the stones, trees, water, and bird songs. This book guides us, feeds us, heals us, clothes us, shelters us, and educates our children, our words are born here.
We were forced to leave our land.
Because we never used land titles, we are buying back this territory one parcel at a time. All the land we buy is collectively owned by the entire community. Much of the forest has been burnt to the ground.
In this context, we have established ten new communities in the foothills of our ancestral territory. One such Arhuaco community is named Seykún. Its’ 400 inhabitants now protect and restore 8,000 acres. Seykún is also where Ofrenda A’bunna was born.
Many children were kidnapped and our leaders were killed. So we sought refuge for generations in the highest peaks of our ancestral territory in what is now called Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
Instead of responding with violence, we have strengthened our spiritual roots in this land. Our mamos (spiritual leaders) have told us that it is now time to move back down the mountains to where we previously lived
We allow over 70% of the land to regenerate to the wild and the remainder is used to organically grow food, fiber, and medicine for our families.
Ofrenda A’bunna was created in 2016 to build alliances with non-Indigenous supporters of our effort to recover and protect our ancestral land. The snail shell we use for our logo was chosen by Mamo Kuncha because it symbolizes the importance of listening to one another and the life that surrounds us.
