Abstract
This essay aims to show the situation of Venezuelan Indigenous peoples in these difficult times, due to the national economic situation, government abandonment, and finally, the legal and illegal gold and coltan mining industries. The five surveys of Indigenous professionals, from different ethnicities and places, reveal the deplorable situation of subsistence and disease that plagues Indigenous peoples in their habitat, yet they are rooted in their origins. Their vivid awareness of being Indigenous and their desire to survive as peoples rich in history, cultures, and traditions, and to continue speaking their native languages and, as far as possible, in their native territory as an indelible emblem of their stories and ancestry, are crucial. Indigenous peoples have paradigmatic consistency that unites them in their ethnohistory and in the process of forming their myths and languages, which distinguish them and, at the same time, articulate them through their struggles, confrontations, labor, and exchanges of goods and values. The situation, generally one of covert submission, must be overcome through recognition, which must be achieved through a high-level confrontation and respect for a nationality that must consolidate its identity and forge paths of coexistence and fraternity. Currently, the Venezuelan indigenous community is under strict government control, which obstructs any publication critical of the regime and information about the sad situations of Venezuelan ethnic groups in order to cover food, healthcare, education, and keep their territories free from mining invasions and the trafficking of women and men for slave labor as a necessity for survival. Imprisonment without trial is constant, and fear prevents publicity about the current lamentable situations of the Venezuelan indigenous community.
Keywords
Mother, Earth, Ancestors, Myths
1. Introduction
In carrying out this study, we do not intend to assert in advance that Venezuelan indigenous peoples are in the process of extinction. Rather, we assert that only the most fused indigenous peoples with the most deeply rooted traditions will be able to survive the erosion of time, provided they establish a true collaboration among themselves as a national entity necessary to consolidate their own ancestral territories, languages, laws, and traditions in all areas of the Venezuelan environment.
Indigenous peoples have paradigmatic consistencies that unite them in their ethnohistory and in the process of forming their myths and languages, which distinguish them and, at the same time, unite them through their struggles, confrontations, work, and exchanges of goods and values.
After thousands of years, they are inferior to the Creole peoples of European-mestizo origin, yet they are in the process of national recognition supported by the 1999 Constitution.
Venezuela presents to the world the recognition of the Law for the Indigenous Peoples we remember:
A. Article 119 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is formulated as follows. | [30] | Bolivar Repúblic of Venezuela (April 2022). Country technical note on Indigenous Peoples' issues. |
[30]
The State shall recognize the existence of indigenous peoples and communities, their social, political, and economic organization, their cultures, customs, languages, and religions, as well as their habitat and original rights to the lands they ancestrally and traditionally occupy and which are necessary to develop and guarantee their ways of life. It shall be the responsibility of the National Executive, with the participation of indigenous peoples, to demarcate and guarantee the right to collective ownership of their lands, which shall be inalienable, imprescriptible, non-seizable, and non-transferable in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and the law
And the Decree of the National Assembly on the Organic Law of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. | [39] | World Bank Group (2015). Indigenous Latin America in the 21st Century. First decade. |
[39]
B: “Organic Law on Indigenous Peoples and Communities”. | [15] | The Organic Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities.” Caracas, 2004. |
| [30] | Bolivar Repúblic of Venezuela (April 2022). Country technical note on Indigenous Peoples' issues. |
[15, 30]
in its article 4 and paragraph 3 states: “Protect the ways of life and sustainable development of indigenous peoples and communities, based on their cultures and languages”
| [10] | Final Document of the Second Venezuelan Indigenous Conversation (2021). Towards the Sodality of Communities. |
[10]
.
Although the law is very clear, the reality of life is far from what Venezuelan legislation establishes, as demonstrated by two emblematic, internationally recognized texts on the indigenous reality of Venezuela.
The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) 2024 has published a significant article on current events in Venezuela, reporting.
| [32] | The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) 2024. |
[32]
.
"-National Crisis and Extractivism: The Double Tsunami That Threatens to Sweep Away Venezuelan Indigenous Peoples- It is no secret that Venezuela is going through the most difficult period in its modern history. We are talking about a country that is estimated (and we say "estimated" because there are no official figures available) to have lost nearly 80% of its GDP in the last ten years. Venezuelan indigenous populations have been severely affected by this disaster, in at least two closely related ways. First, much more general and comprehensive, because the State's framework for care, security, and social protection, having been dismantled, has condemned them to adrift, leaving them outside the scope of attention on issues such as health, food, and education. And secondly, because the proliferation of legal and illegal mining, as well as other extractive and predatory activities
| [31] | Tarazona, D. (2023). Interview: Venezuela in the states of Amazonas and Bolívar, 38 Indigenous Peoples are affected by illegal mining. (January 26, 2025). |
[31]
, directly compromises the lives of Indigenous peoples, especially those in the Amazon, many of whom have been kidnapped or even displaced by it. Indeed, according to monitoring carried out by Wataniba
| [28] | Quispe, Marciales, Almarza, and Wataniba (2024). Challenges and opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact in Venezuela. (January 26, 2025). |
[28]
(Amazonian Socio-Environmental Working Group. Ref.: Jeimy D. Cabuya Muñoz) using satellite images and direct sources from work coordinated with Indigenous organizations on the ground, the land area of the Venezuelan Amazon directly affected by mining has been growing rapidly since 2016. By 2019, it had reached approximately 339 km
2 (or 33,900 hectares), but two years later, in 2021, it had risen to 1,337 km
2 (or 133,700 hectares): an increase of 294%. The worsening national crisis fueled by the effects of the global pandemic
| [18] | Maraza, B. (2022). Quality of Life and Health in Amazonian Indigenous Peoples During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Vive Rev. Salud Vol. 5 No. 14 La Paz Aug. 2022 Epub (June 22, 2022). |
| [19] | Mejías and García C. (2020). Anthropologies Made in Venezuela. Latin American Anthropology Association: Venezuela. |
[18, 19]
played a leading role in this growth. This situation not only affects Indigenous people, who have been forced to migrate to mining camps as their only alternative to accessing income, but also those who remain in the communities, where community dynamics have been disrupted.
This report represents a significant contribution to illuminating the updated X-ray that I propose in this discursive study and in the same line is the information from
The rights of indigenous peoples. | [33] | The rights of indigenous peoples by Amnesty International. 12/24/2024, 5:54 a.m. |
[33]
.
There are more than 5,000 different indigenous peoples in the world, comprising 476 million people (approximately 6.2% of the world's population). They live in more than 90 countries in all regions and speak more than 4,000 languages. Although their customs and cultures differ, indigenous peoples experience the same harsh realities around the world. Their human rights
| [14] | Kuhn, T. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. |
[14]
are routinely violated by state authorities, and they suffer high levels of marginalization and discrimination. Indigenous peoples are evicted from ancestral lands they have inhabited for generations and restricted in their access to education, healthcare, and housing. Indigenous human rights defenders face intimidation, attacks, and sometimes even murder, often with state support. Indigenous peoples are more likely to live in extreme poverty and suffer higher rates of landlessness, malnutrition, and internal displacement than other groups. They often have the highest rates of prison incarceration, illiteracy, and unemployment, and their life expectancy is up to 20 years shorter than that of the non-Indigenous population.
This article, which provides an x-ray or macro view of the Venezuelan reality, aims to demonstrate the difficult reality of the "Original Peoples", not only with reference to situations of abandonment, submission, illness, education that has declined and, particularly, by the "disability", in relation to the Creoles dependent on laws and "Eurocentric Western cultures" that continue to present themselves as superior to the idiosyncrasy of the original peoples of America
| [17] | Manjarrés, E. (2019). Doing Anthropology in 21st-Century Venezuela. Chilean Journal of Anthropology | No. 39 (2019): First Semester. |
| [19] | Mejías and García C. (2020). Anthropologies Made in Venezuela. Latin American Anthropology Association: Venezuela. |
[17, 19]
. It is important to recognize that the independence won by our liberators did not originate autonomy regarding government and economy, however, it has not yet been recognized that the basis of being and living in America in general and Venezuela in particular must establish its roots in the original peoples and their ethnohistory
| [29] | Ramírez, R. (2005). Dialectics of hypothesis verification. Central University of Venezuela. |
[29]
.
It is presumed that it is of primary importance to provide those elements that validate the values and cultures that personalize the Venezuelan ancestral communities, to reestablish and recognize the ambivalence of the Creole peoples with the indigenous people, s and project towards a national identity consolidated and capable of building its own path from the wisdom acquired in all aspects of Venezuelan being and doing.
This essay will focus on the Venezuelan indigenous world
| [8] | Dwayne Mamo (2024: 453). The Indigenous World. Issue 38. |
[8]
; however, when I speak of native peoples, I mean all human groups that have formed entities with their own characteristics in the construction of their history and coexistence with exclusive traditions and experiences, such as Afro-Venezuelan communities and Creole communities that, since the beginning of the colony, have built their own identity within the context
| [7] | Da Silva and Oliveira (2023). Anthropology with Indigenous Peoples in a Revolutionary Context: Brief Notes on the Anthropological (In) Discipline in Venezuela. Volume 15 (2) | 147 - 168 | 2023. University of Brasília. |
[7]
of Venezuelan geography.
To this end, the following study will be conducted using updated information, a snapshot that will include the following sections:
1) Geography and location of indigenous communities in Venezuela.
2) Articles, written and/or spoken information on current events in Venezuela among indigenous peoples.
3) Surveys limited to representatives of ethnic groups to show current trends among indigenous peoples.
4) The Afro-Venezuelan world in summary.
5) Conclusions on the reality of Venezuelan indigenous peoples and the need to consolidate the social and ideological situation of the complex Venezuelan indigenous world.
2. Geography and Location of Indigenous Communities in Venezuela
It is essential to locate the Venezuelan indigenous community in their territories, with large areas currently invaded by mining and Creole farms or haciendas.
Looking at the map, we see that indigenous territories are the result of a progressive historical displacement caused by the conquest and appropriation of the Creoles from the coastal and central parts of Venezuela and the displacement of indigenous peoples to the region's marginal territories, such as the Guajira Desert in the north, the Perijá mountain range in the northwest, the border of the plains that connect Colombia to the west, the Venezuelan Amazon and the plains of Bolívar State to the south, the Orinoco Delta in the east, and the banks of the Orinoco River.
This map helps us understand the displacement of indigenous peoples to marginalized territories. Map published by Inter Press Service (IPS) | [38] | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Venezuela. Publisher: International Minority Rights Group. December 2017, available at: [accessed May 18, 2023]. |
[38]
, a global news agency committed to independent journalism and specializing in analytical reporting on economic, political, social, artistic, and cultural processes and events.
In short, from the beginning of the conquest, the Spanish Crown carried out an intense colonization process with the founding of municipalities with Creoles and indigenous people, constituting institutions dependent on the central government so that the Crown could maintain control from a distance.
Furthermore, they organized a caste system that maintained the social hierarchy and privilege of the Spanish and Creole populations over the indigenous population. This system was reinforced by the economic organization, which was based on the extraction of natural resources (especially minerals such as gold and silver) and their export to Spain.
Below are some tables from reports by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. There are no apdated statistics
| [24] | National Institute of Statistics (RBV). 2011 Census Questionnaire. |
| [25] | National Institute of Statistics (RBV - 2015). 2011 National Population and Housing Census. Enrollment of the Indigenous Population (Venezuela) Paula. Fundo Brasil (2021). History of the Indigenous People. (January 26, 2025). |
| [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
| [6] | Cegarra, N. Indigenous Population of Venezuela - Study of the Demographic Characterization of the Indigenous Population in Venezuela. (January 23, 2025). |
[24-26, 6]
.
Venezuela
Table 1. distribution of the indigenous population
by entity. 2011 census. indigenous population 1/2011 | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
[26]
.
Table 1.
Indigenous population 2011. | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
Total | % | |
ZULIA | 443.544 | 61,2 |
AMAZONAS | 7 6.314 | 10,5 |
BOLÍVAR | 54.686 | 7,5 |
DELTA AMACURO | 41.543 | 5,7 |
ANZOÁTEGUI | 33.848 | 4,7 |
SUCRE | 22.213 | 3,1 |
MONAGAS | 17.898 | 2,5 |
APURE | 11.559 | 1,6 |
NUEVA ESPARTA | 2.200 | 0,3 |
LARA | 2.112 | 0,3 |
OTHER ENTITIES | 18.675 | 2,6 |
TOTAL | 724.592 | %100,0 |
1: The entities are ranked according to the percentage of the country's indigenous population. 2: Groups the population that declared itself indigenous in the rest of the country's entities.
Note: The question about indigenous affiliation was asked of the Venezuelan-born population, which totals 26,071,352 inhabitants. Source: National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Venezuela
Table 2. indigenous population by urban-rural area,
According to 2011 census entity | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
[26]
.
Table 2.
Indigenous population by urban-rural area. | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
FEDERAL ENTITY | 2011 |
TOTAL | URBAN 1/ | RURAL 2/ | % RURAL |
TOTAL | 724.592 | 458.219 | 266.373 | 36,8 |
AMAZONAS | 76.314 | 22.799 | 53.515 | 70,1 |
ANZOÁTEGUI | 33.848 | 12.346 | 21.502 | 63,5 |
APURE | 11.559 | 1.611 | 9.948 | 86,1 |
BOLÍVAR | 54.686 | 10.991 | 43.695 | 79,9 |
DELTA AMACURO | 41.543 | 5.309 | 36.234 | 87,2 |
LARA | 2.112 | 1.261 | 851 | 40,3 |
MONAGAS | 17.898 | 5.832 | 12.066 | 67,4 |
NUEVA ESPARTA | 2.200 | 2.180 | 20 | 0,9 |
SUCRE | 22.213 | 13.132 | 9.081 | 40,9 |
ZULIA | 443.544 | 366.371 | 77.173 | 17,4 |
OTRAS ENTIDADES 3/ | 18.675 | 16.387 | 2.288 | 12,3 |
1: Urban area: population centers with 2,500 or more inhabitants.
2: Rural area: population centers with fewer than 2,500 inhabitants.
3: Includes the population that declared itself indigenous in the rest of the states.
Source: National Institute of Statistics, INE.
Venezuela:
Table 3. Population by Belonging to An Indigenous People,
2011 Census | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
[26]
Table 3.
Population by belonging to an indigenous people. | [26] | The National Institute of Statistics (INE) as a reference for Indigenous peoples in 2011 to understand the Indigenous reality of Venezuela. Source: (January 24, 2024, 5:30 a.m.) |
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE | 2011 |
TOTAL | MEN | WOMENS |
TOTAL | 724.592 | 365.576 | 359.016 |
AKAWAYO | 1.071 | 549 | 522 |
AMORÚA | 165 | 91 | 74 |
AÑÚ/PARAUJANO | 20.814 | 10.683 | 10.131 |
ARAWAK/LOKONO | 1.331 | 734 | 597 |
ARUTANI/URUAK | 20 | 9 | 11 |
AYAMAN | 214 | 109 | 105 |
BANIVA | 3.501 | 1.723 | 1.778 |
BARÉ | 5.044 | 2.517 | 2.527 |
BARÍ | 2.841 | 1.457 | 1.384 |
CHAIMA | 13.217 | 6.873 | 6.344 |
E´ÑEPÁ/PANARE | 4.688 | 2.527 | 2.161 |
GAYÓN | 1.033 | 569 | 464 |
GUANANO | 58 | 30 | 28 |
INGA | 827 | 416 | 411 |
JAPRERIA | 157 | 80 | 77 |
JIRAJARA | 34 | 17 | 17 |
JIVI/GUAJIBO/SIKWANI | 23.953 | 12.017 | 11.936 |
JODI | 982 | 509 | 473 |
KAKETÍO | 56 | 33 | 23 |
KARIÑA | 33.824 | 17.501 | 16.323 |
KECHWA | 20 | 11 | 9 |
KUBEO | 56 | 28 | 28 |
KUIVA | 395 | 211 | 184 |
KUMANAGOTO | 20.876 | 10.874 | 10.002 |
KURRIPAKO | 7.351 | 3.739 | 3.612 |
MAKO | 1.211 | 640 | 571 |
MAPOYO/WANAI | 423 | 210 | 213 |
MATAKO | 23 | 11 | 12 |
PEMÓN (AREKUNA, KAMARAKOTO, TAURE P ÁN) | 30.148 | 15.140 | 15.008 |
PIAP OKO/CHAS E | 3.714 | 1.931 | 1.783 |
P IAROA | 19.293 | 9.810 | 9.483 |
PÍRITU | 121 | 59 | 62 |
P UINAVE | 1.716 | 861 | 855 |
SÁLIVA | 344 | 166 | 178 |
SANE MÁ | 1.444 | 762 | 682 |
SAP É | 9 | 3 | 6 |
SHIRIANA | 418 | 212 | 206 |
TIMOTE /TIMOTOCUICA | 228 | 125 | 103 |
TUKANO | 29 | 13 | 16 |
TUNEBO | 9 | 5 | 4 |
WAIKERÍ | 1.985 | 1.039 | 946 |
WAP ISHANA | 37 | 21 | 16 |
WARAO | 48.771 | 24.848 | 23.923 |
WAREKENA | 620 | 317 | 303 |
WAYUU/GUAJ IRO | 413.437 | 206.783 | 206.654 |
YANOMAMI | 9.569 | 4.930 | 4.639 |
YARURO/PUMÉ | 9.479 | 4.870 | 4.609 |
YAVARANA | 440 | 224 | 216 |
YEKWANA | 7.997 | 3.866 | 4.131 |
YERAL/ÑENGATÚ | 2.130 | 1.038 | 1.092 |
YUKPA | 10.640 | 5.424 | 5.216 |
UNDECLARED1 | 15.236 | 7.650 | 7.586 |
OTHER TOWN2 | 2.504 | 1.267 | 1.237 |
1: Refers to those who declared they belonged to an indigenous group, but did not answer which group.
2: Refers to those who declared they belonged to the "other group" category.
Note: Does not include the Yanomami population in very difficult-to-access areas.
Source: National Institute of Statistics, INE.
The official 2011 census is presented as reproduced in VOL. 45 NO. Biord, H.
| [5] | Biord, H. Indigenous Languages in Venezuela: A Political-Sociolinguistic Approach. Published April 26, 2021. Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research. San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela |
[5]
. Indigenous Languages in Venezuela: A Political-Sociolinguistic Approach. Published April 26, 2021.
Abstract, p. 14: According to data from the 2011 census, the indigenous population of Venezuela is 724,592, which would be equivalent to approximately 2.7% of the country's total population. This article aims to analytically describe some important political-sociolinguistic aspects in the revaluation of indigenous languages as an essential component of Venezuelan culture.
A country's linguistic diversity is part of its rich heritage. In the case of Amerindian languages, this richness is closely linked to knowledge and skills associated with biodiversity management and conservation. This doesn't seem like a mere detail, but rather an essential and indispensable condition for maintaining biological diversity, since those regions of the planet with the greatest sociocultural and linguistic diversity have managed to maintain a broad biodiversity.
Since most indigenous languages face the challenges
| [12] | Heck, Loebens and Carvalho, P. (2005). Indigenous Amazonia: achievements and challenges. Dossiê Amazônia Brasileira I • Estud. av. 19 (53) • Apr 2005. |
[12]
of transitioning from purely oral to written languages, as well as their standardization and homogenization, they must be subject to linguistic planning that emphasizes technical criteria and promotes their use and social appreciation to avoid the emergence of diglossia, which ultimately weakens linguistic loyalty and, consequently, generates the obsolescence of Amerindian languages. Such appreciation, from an intercultural perspective, must be promoted not only among native speakers, actual or potential (in the case of endangered or semi-extinct languages, where younger age groups no longer acquire it as a first language and rarely use it), but among the entire population, who must appreciate it as a heritage asset.
MARIA LUISA ALLAIS has carried out a specific work in the year 2024 with a synthesis of the Venezuelan indigenous people as expressed in her Introduction.
.
This work has been prepared as reference and dissemination material on the indigenous peoples of Venezuela who are currently represented in the country according to the latest National Census conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in 2011. Its objective is to present, in a summarized and synthetic manner, the indigenous peoples of Venezuela according to the declaration of Venezuelan citizens in the 2011 census operation and to offer basic information on each people related to key aspects that cover demographic, ethnological, linguistic, educational, geographic location and presence in censuses of neighboring countries. For its preparation we have used the 2011 Venezuelan Census Database, as well as consulting the results of the National Censuses of neighboring countries with which we share borders and indigenous peoples. We still do not have information from the last census in 2023, however, the situation has changed significantly due to the invasion of mining, the displacement towards urban conglomerates and, for the first time, the emigration of the Warao to Brazil due to disease and abandonment by the Venezuelan government
| [4] | Beltrame, V. in Belém, Pará (2023). Stories: Warao Indigenous Peoples of Northern Brazil Organize to Guarantee Their Participation and Rights. January 26, 2025. |
[4]
.
Updated map prepared by MINPPA (Ministry of People's Power for Food).
Figure 2. Map MINPPA 2025.
Updated Map. The current MINPPA map indicates that the Indigenous presence is present throughout the country, highlighting the geographic characteristics for timely attention to the Indigenous peoples present there, in these Communal Zones, without indicating the traditional Indigenous territories with their original ethnic names. Although the intentions may be good, they betray and obscure the ancestral territories and the right of ancestral heirs to "manage" or have certain privileges recognized by the UN itself, as we report below. This work was carried out by MINPPA (Ministry of People's Power for Food).
Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states.
| [34] | UN: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, (2024. UN Committee urges Venezuela to take measures against discrimination against Indigenous peoples and people of African descent). |
[34]
. “Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their own spiritual relationship with the lands, territories, waters, coastal seas and other resources which they have traditionally owned or occupied and used, and to assume their responsibilities to succeeding generations in this regard”.
Currently, indigenous geography has spread to urbanized territories in Venezuela, and the Warao and Pemón
| [4] | Beltrame, V. in Belém, Pará (2023). Stories: Warao Indigenous Peoples of Northern Brazil Organize to Guarantee Their Participation and Rights. January 26, 2025. |
[4]
have also migrated to Brazil due to situations of disease and widespread famine in traditional indigenous territories.
3. Written and/or Spoken Information on the Current Situation of Indigenous Peoples in Venezuela
Today, January 28th, while presenting the current situation of the Venezuelan indigenous community, sad events occurred in Catatumbo, a Colombian territory north of Santander and bordering Venezuela. According to official estimates, the fighting in Catatumbo has already claimed the lives of 80 people—including six former combatants who signed the Peace Accords—in addition to some 40,000 displaced people, although Colombian President Petro acknowledges that his government still lacks "concrete data." Venezuela announced that it has 6,000 soldiers to protect the Venezuelan banks of the Catatumbo. We also witnessed what is happening in the territory of the Alto Ventuari indigenous peoples, in the state of Amazonas (Venezuela), where around 90 indigenous people took action against illegal mining in their territory on January 20 and 21, in coordination with indigenous organizations such as Kuyunu (the Ye'kwana organization of Alto Ventuari).
The UN reports on August 23, 2024, on human rights in Venezuela
| [35] | UN reports on August 23, 2024, on human rights in Venezuela. See: February 1, 2025, 5:00 a.m. |
[35]
,
“Human rights experts highlight the limitations these populations face in accessing basic services, such as health and education, as well as the labor market, and call for provisions to reduce the poverty and inequality that affect them. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that Venezuela intensify efforts to eliminate institutional and racial discrimination against Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples through the adoption of affirmative action measures.
Today, the Warao, an indigenous Venezuelan ethnic group from the Orinoco Delta, face transculturation and pressure to abandon their ancestral lands due to hardships such as hunger and disease, forcing them to seek better living conditions. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people identify as part of this community.
The first edition of the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR)
| [36] | UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR). Activities Report on Indigenous Populations. |
[36]
.
Activities Report on Indigenous Populations reported that approximately 5 million indigenous refugees and migrants have been registered in Brazil since March 2018. Since 2018, UNHCR has recorded the entry of indigenous Venezuelans into Brazil. Of this total, 3.2 million are asylum seekers, legally identified as people who have left their country and territory due to ongoing persecution or human rights violations. The report divides the indigenous population into four ethnic groups: Warao (66%), Pemón (30%), Eñepa (3%), and Kariña (1%). The majority of them are present in 16 different Brazilian states. In conclusion, the report highlights the urgent need for international protection for indigenous populations in Brazil, emphasizing the importance of local authorities and the need for technical support to address the needs of these populations.
Confront: Barchfield, J.
| [3] | Barchfield, J. (2023). UNHCR Helps Indigenous Venezuelans Remain on Their Lands. San Francisco de Paraitepuy, Venezuela. (February 1, 2025, 5:30 a.m.). |
| [4] | Beltrame, V. in Belém, Pará (2023). Stories: Warao Indigenous Peoples of Northern Brazil Organize to Guarantee Their Participation and Rights. January 26, 2025. |
| [5] | Biord, H. Indigenous Languages in Venezuela: A Political-Sociolinguistic Approach. Published April 26, 2021. Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research. San Antonio de Los Altos, Venezuela |
| [6] | Cegarra, N. Indigenous Population of Venezuela - Study of the Demographic Characterization of the Indigenous Population in Venezuela. (January 23, 2025). |
| [7] | Da Silva and Oliveira (2023). Anthropology with Indigenous Peoples in a Revolutionary Context: Brief Notes on the Anthropological (In) Discipline in Venezuela. Volume 15 (2) | 147 - 168 | 2023. University of Brasília. |
| [8] | Dwayne Mamo (2024: 453). The Indigenous World. Issue 38. |
| [9] | Echeverría, J. (1996). Betty Jane Meggers (December 5, 1921-July 2, 2012). Abya Yala. |
| [10] | Final Document of the Second Venezuelan Indigenous Conversation (2021). Towards the Sodality of Communities. |
| [11] | Gilbert and Marquina (2024). The Commune, a Living Tradition for Pumé People in Venezuela. (January 26, 2025). |
| [12] | Heck, Loebens and Carvalho, P. (2005). Indigenous Amazonia: achievements and challenges. Dossiê Amazônia Brasileira I • Estud. av. 19 (53) • Apr 2005. |
| [13] | International Organization at the Service of Ibero-America, (2024). 38.4% of Indigenous Languages in Latin America and the Caribbean are at Risk of Disappearing. |
| [14] | Kuhn, T. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. |
| [15] | The Organic Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities.” Caracas, 2004. |
| [16] | Levy, R. (2020). STORIES: UNHCR Report Reveals That 65% of Indigenous Venezuelans Registered in Brazil Are Asylum Seekers. |
[3-16]
. UNHCR helps Venezuelan Indigenous people stay on their land. San Francisco de Paraitepuy, Venezuela.
Monica Viti, in her article
“Between Dispossession and Memory” describes the Warao who resist in Pacaraima. She describes the Warao as follows:
| [37] | Viti, M. Between Dispossession and Memor. Confront: February 1, 2025, 6:15 a.m. |
[37]
.
The Warao who decided to leave their territory, which is the main link with Mother Earth, collective memory, and the cultural reproduction of their people, did so because they no longer found a dignified life there, and structural violence threatened to destroy them. Driven by the spirit of life and the search for a land free from evil, which is part of Indigenous spirituality, they mounted their wajibaka (curiara) to see if life is possible.
In his article "The Pemón Indigenous People, Scapegoat of Geopolitical Speculation," anthropologist Emilio Esteban Mosonyi,
| [22] | Mosonyi, E. (2020). Esteban Emilio Mosonyi: The Pemón Indigenous People, Scapegoat of Geopolitical Speculation. Human Rights No. 4. Edition and distribution: @Provea. (January 28, 2024). |
| [23] | Mosonyi, E. (2022). Speech by Professor Esteban Mosonyi at the 2022 CLACSO Awards Ceremony. (January 28, 2024). |
[22, 23]
. among other things, addresses a close examination of recent events that call into question the future existence of this people; all of them closely related to the current government's mining and extractive plans, such as the .02*-Mining Arc, the militarization of indigenous communities, the perception of indigenous people as cheap labor for mining activities, the ongoing mistreatment of indigenous miners
| [20] | Meléndez, L. (2024). Venezuela’s Isolated Indigenous Groups Under Siege from Miners, Disease, and Guerrillas. (January 26, 2025). |
[20]
. when they attempt to act on their own, along with other significant events, including the April 30th massacre and its aftermath.
In addition to their own struggles for autonomy
| [38] | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Venezuela. Publisher: International Minority Rights Group. December 2017, available at: [accessed May 18, 2023]. |
[38]
and the defense of their territories and ways of life, many Indigenous Venezuelans face the same problems as the rest of the population: high levels of poverty, precarious services, and insecurity, among others. The lack of adequate services, especially in health and education, motivates migration to cities or urban areas. There, these problems often go unresolved and, on the contrary, worsen as they distance themselves from their traditional ways of life. This is noted in the final paragraph of the summary of "Indigenous World 2024," 38th edition, p. 464.
The Wayuu, and other indigenous peoples in particular, have a formal education, including university degrees. However, the vast majority suffer from dependence and submission to the Creole people due to the mistaken belief that indigenous peoples possess inferior cultures and ways of thinking, incomparable to the development of Eurocentric society and philosophy. The problem is that the indigenous world has assimilated this belief and therefore does not consider their excellent traditions
| [9] | Echeverría, J. (1996). Betty Jane Meggers (December 5, 1921-July 2, 2012). Abya Yala. |
[9]
, their ancestral experience filled with life wisdom, as a founding element of human life. In the following surveys, respondents do recognize the great value of their myths and traditions, which are in no way inferior to European traditions and philosophy.
4. Surveys Limited to Some Representatives of Venezuelan Ethnic Groups from Indigenous Peoples
To consolidate the situation, comprehensive surveys on important aspects of current indigenous issues have been conducted among some indigenous peoples from a few Venezuelan ethnic groups, with the aim of gaining a general overview of the indigenous peoples of the national territory.
We preserve the integrity of the responses and their authors in PDF format as proof of authenticity and encoding. Their original answers are transcribed, even if they have some spelling problems, to avoid altering their meaning. The surveys will be divided into three sections: - personal information, - social situation, - expectations of the Indigenous world.
We preserve the integrity of the responses and their authors in PDF format as proof of authenticity and encoding. Their original answers are transcribed, even if they have some spelling problems, to avoid altering their meaning. The surveys will be divided into three sections: - personal information, - social situation, - expectations of the Indigenous world.
4.1. Personal Data
5urveys have been carried out in the following towns: Kari'na, Jivi, Ye'kwana and Pemón.
Original community: Creole Conglomerate, Edo. Anzoategui; Edo. Amazon, two; Chajuraña indigenous community in Bolívar; La Nueva Periquera Indigenous Community, Edo. Bolivar.
Place of residence: Edo. Bolívar (1); Amazon (1); Miranda (1); Chajuraña in Bolívar (1); Itöyponkon indigenous community, Angostura del Orinoco, Bolívar (1).
Languages in which it is expressed: Maternal (kari’ña, jivi A-B, ye'kwana, pemón); Spanish: kari’ña, / jivi A-B, / ye'kwana / pemón; others; jivi A: Piaroa, Yanomami and Wayuu.
Level of study: Higher (kari'ña / jivi A-B / ye'kwana (9th semester in Pemón bilingual intercultural education).
Work: Salaried (kari'ña); / Indigenous defender in the Ombudsman's Office (jivi A); Ministry of Education (jivi B) / Work in a linguistic niche (ye'kwana). National Institute of Indigenous Languages in the coordination of Sociocultural and Linguistic Training (pemón).
Social commitment: Social worker (kari'ña); / Community defender (jivi A-B); / Community and family (ye'kwana). In the indigenous community (pemón).
Natural medicine: (kari'ña, empirically); / (jivi A-B, if they apply it); / We are currently using traditional medicine due to lack of attention from the current government (ye'kwana) / We use it partially (pemón).
Political commitment: Left-wing sympathizer (kari'ña); / No (jivi A-B); / No (ye'kwana) / I am committed (pemón).
Aspects of interest among respondents: Recovering the Kari'ña language: Kari'ña; / It has nothing special (jivi A); / Pemón indigenous, artisan, cultist of the Pemón people (Pemón).
4.2. Situación Social
4.2.1. Regarding the Situation of the Communities
In the Kari’ña communities, the programs range from good to non-existent (cari’ña); / Education is provided for two hours a day; educational work must be well implemented so that children learn well; health care provides no medicine; justice is exercised with legitimate authority, and the community works in agriculture (jivi A); / The desire is for class schedules to be reestablished (jivi B); / Education in my community is very poor, let’s say in all the communities, due to the lack of updating and supervisory visits from the competent education authorities in the area, and the same applies to health care. We are totally abandoned; there are no medicines; we are living with extremely low economic resources; there are no decent wages (ye’kwana); / The Pemón tells her story in the community, which lives a life similar to all the Pemón on the island called San José de la Periquera, when she was displaced due to the Guri Dam reservoir. She recalls teaching the language at the churuata. At that time, marrying Creoles was not allowed, and she had to leave to continue her studies. She laments the disappearance of the wise men and women and the need to recover traditions and the training of teachers, and we are recovering traditional medicine. She concludes by affirming the need for Creoles to understand the indigenous peoples.
4.2.2. Extractive Activities
They are negative in every way, for the environment and for human beings (kari’ña); / It is a threat to the community since the inhabitants leave the community for another place in search of peace and tranquility, as well as mining activity brings diseases to the inhabitants and to their rivers as well as crime in the community (jivi A); / A threat to daily life (jivi B); / Every day our people and communities are under external and internal threat from illegal mining that is practiced in our Caura basin, many diseases, and mercury contamination (ye’kwana); / A threat to life and diseases (pemón).
4.2.3. Relations with the Creoles
There is a relationship of respect, however, a traditional mistrust (kari'ña) persists; / In the Indigenous communities near the city, the Creoles come to the communities to generate violence against the youth, bringing alcoholism and drugs, this situation affecting the entire Indigenous community (jivi A); Relationship of mistrust (jivi B); / With respect for the Creoles, but in a position of submission, inferiority. Of course, we don't trust the mestizos because they don't fulfill their commitments after what was agreed on regarding zero mines in the Caura and the possibility of eradicating mining in the Caura. Together with my comrades in struggle, we have acted with great respect toward the mestizos (ye'kwana); / Mutual respect; thank God, we do not have that invasion in my ancestral community, thanks to the coexistence agreements (Pemón).
4.2.4. The Practice of Traditional Life
Traditional life has been affected by the need to study in the city and the successive loss of family traditions (kari'ña); / The situation for indigenous people is serious when they are displaced from the lands they have ancestrally occupied. For indigenous people, the land is sacred, which is why they take great care of it and protect it; for indigenous people, they lose all hope for life in their culture when their lands are taken away (jivi A); / They are done out of necessity (jivi B); / They had to be assumed out of necessity. Currently, almost 50% have lost the practice of traditional activities, which is why other peoples have immigrated to the mining industry and abandoned their communities (ye'kwana); / In indigenous schools located on the banks of the Paragua River... despite many circumstances, our ancestral culture (Pemón) is still maintained.
4.2.5. Indigenous Cultures
He considers them transcendental and laments European ignorance. He deplores the imposition of European weapons and cultures (kari’ña); / The indigenous person lives his world in his community, his life plan is in his culture, for that reason he lives in community because solidarity is practiced, and on the other hand, in European or Creole culture, selfishness is practiced, division does not exist in helping one’s brother, but individualism is practiced. The European sees the indigenous person as weak, senseless brutes, or even savage who does not think, that is why for the indigenous person, the European brings curses or diseases to the indigenous person, with that reason the Creoles or Europeans seek to take away their lands (jivi A); / European culture is one of domination and imposition (jivi B); / Let’s say that for the moment we are constitutionally recognized but it is a dead letter, it is never fulfilled (ye’kwana); / In my community, Itöyponkon, Pemón have joined due to illness, higher education, and others in search of work. Yet, the culture and ancestral customs remain... the typical cuisine, which is casabe, spicy food, and Cumachi. The population has grown, and we are working with the National Institute of Indigenous Languages to recover these languages, as the native language (Pemon) is in danger of extinction.
4.2.6. The National Constitution
In Indigenous territories, there is the awareness that the Constitution provides, and they fight to preserve it (kari'ña); / For Indigenous people, freedom is very important. The current Bolivarian Constitution, although it recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples, acts as a barrier when Indigenous peoples can decide on a situation that benefits the community (jivi A); / It provides no guarantees (jivi B); / One thing that concerns us is insecurity, since we live near neighborhoods where the Creoles live. We continue with our Indigenous political organization, where we have our highest leader, who directs the community, the captain or chief (Pemón).
4.2.7. Political and/or Economic Situations
Pressure against indigenous languages
| [13] | International Organization at the Service of Ibero-America, (2024). 38.4% of Indigenous Languages in Latin America and the Caribbean are at Risk of Disappearing. |
[13]
and customs continues. There are no explicit impositions, but rather attitudes contrary to our ancestral languages and traditions, both from the civil and religious spheres (Kari'ña); / To date, there is no possibility for indigenous peoples to abandon their cultures, customs, and languages; however, there are contradictions or double talk on the part of the state. There is no official support for indigenous communities to develop their cultures and maintain or care for their lands (jivi A); / Currently, there is no pressure (jivi B); / There is pressure from the current government on our organizations, seeking to eliminate and politicize them. Likewise, the government wants to buy people's consciences with so-and-so BONO, but we have been very wise in carrying out our own politics and our own economy to sustain ourselves, just as our ancestors taught us (ye'kwana); / European culture is one of domination and imposition (Pemón).
4.2.8. Practices of Their Beliefs, Ancestral Traditions and Festivals
She affirms that they continue to be practiced throughout the year (cariña). / Yes. Currently, indigenous peoples practice or maintain their beliefs, traditions and festivals. In the case of the JIVI people, they maintain what is called the water prayer or the fish prayer. When a girl develops, the parents or family prepare a prayer for the girl so that the Maguaris, i.e. the evil water spirits, do not take her. They also maintain dances, such as the deer cacho, the brincaito and the rueda, to give a few typical examples. They also maintain their languages. The family teaches their children verbally how to teach the language (jivi A); / She answers yes (jivi B); / Yes, I practice my beliefs, traditional festivals, rites, myths and songs. All at the appropriate time and according to traditions (ye'kwana); / In some cases yes, I can say that religion or sects have greatly influenced the negativity in the practice of our culture or ancestral teachings and others due to ignorance (Pemón).
4.2.9. Presence of Christian Religions and Other Beliefs
Currently there are no impositions, but there is indoctrination by evangelicals (kari'ña); / Yes. Specifically the so-called EVANGELICALS with their different names are the ones who are reaching indigenous communities and these groups have culturally affected indigenous communities, thus displacing cultures, languages and their own religions, the so-called pastors tell SHAMANS to abandon their medicinal or healing practices, that is why in some indigenous towns they stop practicing their own cultures since evangelicals do not allow their practices and this has culturally affected indigenous peoples (jivi A); / There is imposition of Christian religions (jivi B); / There are no impositions (ye'kwana).
4.2.10. Syncretism Between Indigenous Beliefs and Myths and Western Myths and Beliefs
If there is syncretism, it is particularly in Spiritism (kari'ña); / There is a clash between indigenous and Western beliefs. The Creole tries to dominate by saying that indigenous myths are just myths, that there is no reality, that they are pure stories, that is why the state and some churches try to ignore indigenous stories, although indigenous myths or stories, by ancient tradition, are culturally their own and that is why indigenous peoples do not need translators, they simply need to be recognized and respected (jivi A); / There is a lot of syncretism, however, everyone strives to maintain their own traditions (jivi B); / There is no syncretism (ye'kwana).
4.2.11. Life in Their Traditional Habitat and the National Constitution
The question is whether the Constitution protects them. The answer is yes (cariña). If the political powers and the military present in your territory provide them with peace of mind: Normally yes (cariña 1); To the question whether they are organized to protect their people: Not completely (kari’ña A); / The Constitution protects us, but the military presence does not guarantee peace of mind. We can protect ourselves (jivi A); / There is no political-military protection, but indigenous communities do protect themselves (jivi B); / Considers that the national Constitution provides no guarantees, nor does the military protect them, but they, the communities, can protect themselves (ye’kwana).
4.2.12. Practice of Mother Tongue
Practices it relatively (kari'ña); With reference to the practices of ancestral laws: After 530 years of resistance against colonialism, 215 years of independence, and 25 years of Bolivarianism, some achievements have not been easy, but we continue (kari'ña); / Indigenous rights are partially applied in indigenous communities, there is still a long way to go before the application of their own law is recognized by the state. There is a certain fear or dread that the state will not fully recognize the uses and customs of indigenous peoples (jivi A); / Answers that they speak their language and that they exercise their rights (jivi B); / Affirms that they do speak their language in homes and schools. Additionally, they report that indigenous peoples and communities in the Caura basin have been mistreated by the government, mistreated, and verbally abused at checkpoints, despite the Constitution and the Lopci law. The authorities are unaware of the laws, it is no secret to anyone, the current government does not comply with the laws, everything has been violated (ye'kwana).
4.2.13. Land Conflict
I have my position regarding the category of original properties to indigenous communities. 1- The Spanish crown could not claim the right to grant indigenous land ownership to the communities, given that the crown was an invader and a land thief. 2 - Some Kari'ña communities have had their land titles recognized by the state. Some had so-called colonial titles, and others were demarcated by the Demarcation Law of 2001. 3 - There are four types of conflicts: a) those with oil companies in the Orinoco oil belt and in mining areas in Bolívar state, Sifontes Municipality; b) With some mayoralties or municipal ejidos; c) With the vacant lands administered by the National Land Institute, and d) with some private individuals such as large landowners and agro-industrialists. (kari'ña); / If we own our lands and are in the process of recognition (jivi A); / They own their land and are in the process of recognition (jivi B); / They acknowledge that they do not own their land nor are they in the process of establishing their inalienable rights to their land (ye’kwana).
4.2.14. Security in the Original Territories
There is no total security; the Army is there to protect oil installations and state industries (kari’ña); / Mining, water, natural monuments, oil, the state’s interest in occupying the land for its own benefit, whether for economic projects (jivi A); / The problem is gold and coltan (jivi B); / Illegal mining, military abuse, invasion of our territory by illegal miners, threats, harassment (ye’kwana).
4.2.15. The Indigenous Territories "Protected" by the Venezuelan Army or by the Guerrillas
No, answers the Kari'ña; it is not protected by the army, but in some ways by guerrilla groups like the ELN or the FARC (jivi A); / It has no protection from anyone (jivi B); / Neither of the two bodies (military and guerrillas) protect us. They are protected by our Kuyujani organization, and all the communities constitute indigenous security bodies as protectors, a bastion of the area (ye'kwana).
4.2.16. Military Presence Prevents Them from Freely Living their Ancestral Lives
Answer yes (kari'ña); / If the indigenous community is afraid because they cannot freely carry out their daily activities, such as farming, fishing, and housing, such as living peacefully in the community and moving freely within their territory (jivi A); / Yes, it prevents it (jivi B); / They do not allow us to move freely; there is always extortion, they take what we carry for our food, and they prohibit us from carrying large liters of gasoline. Checkpoints charge us high prices, knowing there is no fuel quota, so we buy fuel on the street from bachaqueros, etc. (ye'kwana).
4.2.17. The Current Government's Policy Is in Favor of the Communities
Yes (kari'ña); / Yes (jivi A-B); / No (ye'kwana).
4.2.18. The Presence of the Government Can Be Classified as Partisan or Based on Self-Interested Ideologies
We have our ideology of life as a population and territory, and with an organizational system, we can govern ourselves (kari'ña); / I not only work professionally as a lawyer and as an Indigenous person, but I have my observations or criticisms when the State or public institutions make mistakes or in some way ignore legal norms and Indigenous peoples (jivi A); / Normally, I only work, research, and analyze as an anthropologist, observing closely, and at the same time, we criticize where the State does not take Indigenous populations and their rights into account (jivi B); / Currently, we are marginalized; the Caura has been abandoned by the current government; there is no way to explain or hide that reality (ye'kwana).
4.2.19. Conditions of Indigenous Living Conditions in Urban Conglomerations and Their Difficulties with Creoles
I have no problems. I am under the Constitutional precept of the CRBV (kari'ña); / Indigenous peoples have their own spaces; they are free when they live in their community or territory. Indigenous people are not culturally prepared to live when there are large numbers of people due to the discomfort of living their cultures, since Indigenous people need their lands and families to be happy (jivi A); / They do not feel free. Indigenous people, by nature, are free in their abilities when there are other different cultures; at the same time, they feel uncomfortable in their own space because they do not have a suitable and free place (jivi A-B); / They say they do not feel free in Creole territory (ye'kwana).
4.2.20. There Any Fear or Submission, Whether Cultural or Related to Coexistence
Answered above (kari'ña); I don't suffer from any fear of learning or gaining knowledge of another subject because it's always necessary to learn something new in life or professionally (jivi A); Fear is something someone imposes on you not to do it, but you always have to see and understand it culturally, see in order to learn (jivi B); / I don't consider myself submissive (ye'kwana).
4.3. Expectations from the Indigenous World
In this second part, the survey expands on the future of the Indigenous world with the final nine questions. It asks about the importance of comprehensive recognition of wisdom, ancestors, language, and territory, as well as the relationship with Creoles.
4.3.1. Valuing the Paradigms of the Indigenous World
We indigenous peoples have a culture full of values, knowledge, and customs (languages, thoughts, philosophies, worldviews, art, medicine, gastronomy, social organization, families, lands, and natural resources, etc.). After so much abuse, we must work to rebuild our civilization to ensure our future as a people (kari'ña); / It is necessary to learn from the culture that our parents, grandparents, and ancestors have taught us. The way of life that our parents teach us from a young age: work, how to fish, how to plant or farm, how to treat a wound or use a plant for healing. Practicing cultural identity is good because it teaches the culture, the worldview of indigenous life, and sees the future of our people as a cultural root (jivi A); / Our identity is oneself, and our knowledge and training are present from a very early age. We practice our language daily and use plants to cure different illnesses (jivi B); / Answer yes (ye'kwana).
4.3.2. The Demands of Indigenous Peoples Today Include
a) Organization; b) Study, training, and capacity building; c) Raising self-esteem; d) Recovery of languages; d) Recovery of medicinal knowledge; e) Recovery of leadership and governance roles as basic elements for their own autonomy and development (kari'ña 1); / Health, the availability of medicines that affect the inhabitants, such as malaria, parasites, among others; public services such as river, land, or air transportation; education with good teachers who teach bilingual intercultural education; electricity and technological means such as the internet (jivi A); There are many, including health and education, among others (jivi B); / There is no response (ye'kwana).
4.3.3. Considers It Necessary to Recover and Deepen Ancestral Traditions
See previous answer (Kariña 1); / First, that the state respect and recognize the rights established in the Constitution, that we be valued as people and cultures, since indigenous peoples are intelligent people or cultures, who can learn and/or hold positions of relevance to our communities (Jivi A); / The first thing is to be aware that we have a culture that identifies us; we have ancestral values, principles, and knowledge (Jivi B); / Answer yes (Ye'kwana).
4.3.4. Important Actions to Strengthen the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Venezuela
Response to No. 22 (Kariña); / It is necessary for Indigenous peoples to be aware that the only way to preserve our cultures is by practicing or living in our communities so that the values are learned according to the culture we are, since it is in the community where culture is learned and lived. However, it is necessary for parents, grandparents, and relatives to teach their children or grandchildren important actions to strengthen the rights of Indigenous peoples in Venezuela (Jivi A); / Respect the rights of each Indigenous people (Jivi B); / Conduct workshops for each of the peoples and communities in the Caura basin and talks in educational institutions (Ye'kwana).
4.3.5. Need to Conserve Their Territories: Yes, It Is Necessary
They can and should conserve their lands to constitute their life; they owe it to them (kari’ña); / Their lands are very important for indigenous peoples because without them we are nobody. For indigenous people, the land is their home, their grandfather, their mother; there is a connection with the land; from there, their entire culture and ancestry are born (jivi A); / The land and territory as such are important for indigenous people, where they move freely in their space, where they practice their way of life daily in their culture; without that, there is no progress (jivi B); / Peoples and communities still conserve their territory, nature, and their habitat (ye’kwana).
4.3.6. On the Need for Integration with Creole Society: Integration is Not Necessary
We are a people with our own culture, and as such, each culture must develop with its own patterns. They can be together, but not mixed (kari'ña); / This connection must be positive with the Creole world, where there is good faith, respect, and recognition of the indigenous. It is important for indigenous people to connect with the Western world in order to learn from new experiences, and in this way, their knowledge will be strengthened (jivi A); / That they take into account the indigenous populations that exist in the world, thus maintaining certain ties with the Creoles who live and share this world with us (jivi B); / It is necessary to integrate into mestizo society in order to interact well where necessary (ye'kwana).
4.3.7. The Question is About Conive (the National Indian Council of Venezuela)
CONIVE already fulfilled its historic mission at a certain point, as an instrument that served to include us in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. After 25 years, we must relaunch a new figure that is up to date with the new realities and with greater combativeness in the fight for Indigenous rights (kari'ña); / When it was created, it was heard, but later I stopped listening to it (jivi B); / The CONVIVE organization is weakened in speaking ancestrally because currently, organizations have sold out to the current government; they are no longer like organizations of the past; they do not defend the needs of the peoples and communities; instead, they have become defenders of the interests of the government (ye'kwana).
4.3.8. Regarding the Creation of a Unifying Entity
Integration is not necessary: We are a people with our own culture, and as such, each culture must develop according to its own patterns. They can be together, but not mixed (kari'ña). Although a national and other regional organizations currently exist, they are already contaminated by the purpose for which they were created and elected. The people who lead them do not want to renew their leadership because they have particular interests or politics. That is why it is necessary to work on creating new Indigenous organizations with new visions of struggle for their peoples and to truly defend the rights of Indigenous peoples, not negotiate with the government, but rather strengthen and defend the rights won in the laws (jivi A); / Each Indigenous community has its own organizations, so that they can be reestablished and have committed people so that they can have a unified voice (jivi B); / I want to argue that it is not necessary to create; we already have many organizations at the National level. Our organization, Kuyujani de Chajuraña, in the Caura basin, defends the interests of the peoples and communities, not the interests of the government. Likewise, they can defend their own organizations and protect their spaces (ye’kwana).
4.3.9. The Question About the Need for Creative Dialogue to Build a Society in Keeping with Its History
Debates on the ideas of height, respect, and mutual recognition, that we all have the right to life, we have values, we all need each other (kari'ña); / confrontations between indigenous peoples and the Western world will always exist since there is a lack of recognition of indigenous peoples by the Creole, they will try to impose in any way or mode or by force the change of culture, as well as of their lands, that is why interculturality of the relationship or the connection of cultures respecting the other is necessary, as long as you are right, cultural education is necessary, the conversation between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, prior consultation is important for indigenous peoples, only by recognizing the other as a person and their culture can we coexist in a society where economic, communicational, or even religious power prevails, in this case I join the fight that indigenous peoples have every day for our lands and legitimate rights conquered (jivi A); / Currently, social discrimination still exists there, linking indigenous peoples and confrontations come from there that seek Westernized hierarchy (jivi B); / We have to present our own interest, our interest is in each of our peoples, that is what the Western world does not know, the call is not to defend the interests of the government (ye'kwana).
5. The Afro-Venezuelan World, in Summary
The Black or Afro-descendant world is of great significance to the history of Venezuela, even though "people of color" simply identify as Venezuelans. The history of the slave trade, their arrival in Venezuela, slave labor, racial discrimination, and persecution has terrifying nuances
| [34] | UN: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, (2024. UN Committee urges Venezuela to take measures against discrimination against Indigenous peoples and people of African descent). |
| [35] | UN reports on August 23, 2024, on human rights in Venezuela. See: February 1, 2025, 5:00 a.m. |
| [36] | UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR). Activities Report on Indigenous Populations. |
| [37] | Viti, M. Between Dispossession and Memor. Confront: February 1, 2025, 6:15 a.m. |
| [38] | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Venezuela. Publisher: International Minority Rights Group. December 2017, available at: [accessed May 18, 2023]. |
| [39] | World Bank Group (2015). Indigenous Latin America in the 21st Century. First decade. |
| [40] | Zeuske, M. (2024). Afro-Latinidad and the History of Slavery (PDF digital book). University of Costa Rica. |
[34-40]
. History tells us that most of the slaves brought from Africa died along the way; those who arrived were sold, dividing them from their group of origin and even dividing families (father, mother, and children), thus breaking the strength of groups, their languages, and their cultures. They were assigned to owners who treated them like animals. To see the origins we can consult the professor and researcher Angelina Pollak (2012), for history and slavery the anthropologist Miguel Acosta Saignes (1978) and for a current vision of the black peoples of the Afro-descendant communities of the central Venezuelan coast of our coasts, the anthropologist Yara Altez (2024).
6. Conclusions on the Reality of Venezuelan Indigenous Peoples and Consolidation of the Situation
6.1. Unsurpassed Colonial-Historical Consequences
The great journey of Venezuelan history, which goes from the conquest to a colonial reality, from political-economic dependence on the kings of Spain to a "libertarian" Creole government that maintains, as far as possible, the colonial status of the indigenous and Afro-Venezuelan peoples, to a path of democratic freedoms with dictatorial realities expressed by Creole landowners united with the nouveau riche owners of coffee and cocoa productions (the great cacao plantations), and finally the oil industry, taken over by robbers of public wealth for their own benefit, handing over a few crumbs to the people.
The great Venezuelan men and women are the fruit of sensibilities rooted in the common people, who usually find personal fulfillment abroad and, indirectly, bring nobility to the Venezuelan people. However, they do not seem to be agents of change in the profound reality of Venezuela. We can name the most important educators: Miguel José Sanz, Juan Germán, Roscio, Simón Rodríguez, Simón Bolívar, Juan Manuel Cajigal, Andrés Bello, José María Vargas, Fermín Toro, and Cecilio Acosta. All of them fail to achieve transcendental changes toward the integrative freedom that the Liberator yearned for in his speech in Angostura: "Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is a blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue prey on the credulity and inexperience of men who are ignorant of all knowledge..." The Liberator's words remain unanswered to this day.
Dependence still extends to the common Venezuelan people, while those with select training find positions in public or private organizations in developing countries. It seems that to be considered, one must demonstrate service to foreign entities and not as agents of change in Venezuelan society, with some exceptions in political and social fields.
Elements of colonial life still persist in Venezuelan reality, highlighted by those surveyed as being at the extremes of the Venezuelan population. Some references: "There is pressure from the current government on our organizations; it seeks to eliminate and politicize them. Likewise, the government wants to buy people's consciences with so-and-so BONO, but we have been very wise in pursuing our own politics and our own economy to sustain ourselves, just as our ancestors (ye'kwana) taught us." "Indigenous communities' own rights are moderately enforced; there is still a long way to go before the state recognizes these rights. There is a certain fear or dread that the state will not fully recognize the customs and practices of Indigenous peoples (Jivi A); / Responds that they speak their language and that they exercise their rights (Jivi B)." "Pressure against indigenous languages and customs continues; there are no explicit impositions, but rather attitudes contrary to our languages and ancestral traditions, both in the civil and religious spheres (Cariña)".
6.2. Social Situations of Abandonment with Signs of Hope
The situation is strongly marked by social abandonment by the government and mining, especially illegal mining, and the invasion of their ancestral lands for various reasons.
La exigencia es la tierra de sus ancestros, cito: “Es grave la situación para el indígena cuando es desplazado de sus tierras que ancestralmente ha ocupado. Para el indígena la tierra es sagrada por eso lo cuida mucho y lo protege, para el indígena pierde toda la esperanza de vida para su cultura cuando le quitan sus tierras (jivi A)”. “El indígena vive su mundo en su comunidad, su plan de vida está en su cultura, por esa razón vive en comunidad porque se practica la solidaridad (jivi B)”.
The demand is for the reservation of their land. I quote: “Every day our people and communities are under external and internal threat from illegal mining practiced in our Caura basin, numerous diseases, and mercury contamination (ye’kwana).” “They had to take it on out of necessity. Currently, almost 50% have lost the practice of this traditional activity, which is why other peoples have immigrated to mining and abandoned their communities (ye’kwana)”.
The challenge is the health situation and the illnesses. "We are totally abandoned, there is no medicine, we are living with extremely low economic resources, there are no decent wages (ye'kwana)." For the Warao people, this is tragic because the indigenous people were displaced from their habitat a century ago, with the offer of education, medicine, food aid, and good communication via outboard motors. Currently, they lack this ease of communication, creating major problems for education and health, driving a large migration to Brazil and the abandonment of their communities. They claim they are returning to traditional medicine: "We are currently using traditional medicine due to the lack of attention from the current government (ye'kwana)".
Education: “Education in my community is very poor, let's say in all communities, due to the lack of updates and supervisory visits from the relevant education authorities in the area, and the same goes for health. We are completely abandoned; there are no medications; we are living with extremely limited economic resources, with no decent wages (ye'kwana)”.
Community life and culture: “For us, culture is considered transcendental, and we lament European ignorance. We deplore the imposition of European weapons and cultures (kari’ña). “Traditional life has been affected by the need to study in the city and the successive loss of family traditions (kari’ña)”.
The law, politics, and economics: “For Indigenous people, freedom is very important. The current Bolivarian Constitution, although it recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples, acts as a barrier to Indigenous peoples' ability to decide on a situation that benefits the community (jivi A).” Pressure against indigenous languages and customs continues; there are no explicit impositions, but rather attitudes contrary to our languages and ancestral traditions, both from the civil and religious spheres (Kari'ña)”.
Ancestral beliefs and traditions | [11] | Gilbert and Marquina (2024). The Commune, a Living Tradition for Pumé People in Venezuela. (January 26, 2025). |
[11]
:
“Yes, I practice my beliefs, traditional festivals, rites, myths, and songs. All at the appropriate time and according to tradition (ye’kwana).” “He affirms that they continue to be practiced year-round (cariña).” He affirms that there is pressure from evangelicals to indoctrinate.
Security and the Government: There is no total security; the Army is there to protect oil installations and state industries (kari’ña). “The problem is gold and coltan (jivi B).” We are currently marginalized; the Caura has been abandoned by the current government; there is no way to explain or hide that reality (ye’kwana). “We are currently marginalized; the Caura has been abandoned by the current government; there is no way to explain or hide that reality (ye’kwana)”.
Native language: "Indigenous communities' own rights are moderately enforced; there is still a long way to go before the state recognizes their own rights. There is a certain fear or dread that the state will not fully recognize the customs and practices of Indigenous peoples (Jivi A)." Other similar responses.
The presence of the state: It is stated that the presence of the state is partisan and ideological. "We have our ideology of life as a population and territory, and with a system of organization, we can govern ourselves (Kari'ña)".
The life of Indigenous people in Creole communities: “I have no problems. I am subject to the Constitutional precept of the CRBV (kari’ña).” “I don’t feel free. Indigenous people, by nature, are free to practice their skills when there are other different cultures; at the same time, they feel uncomfortable in their own space because they don’t have a proper, free place (jivi A-B); / They say they don’t feel free in Creole territory (ye’kwana).” “I don’t suffer from any fear of learning or gaining knowledge of another subject because it’s always necessary to learn something new in life or in my professional life (jivi A)”.
6.3. Persistence of the Indigenous World and Its Apparent Fragmentation
The current situation of the Venezuelan Indigenous world is experiencing a difficult time and is at a crossroads regarding its past and future. There is an authentic and profound sense of belonging to their myths and ancestors that continue to be a light from a distant past. However, despite this distance, the flame that unites each Indigenous people of Venezuela remains alive.
We remember the Mapoyo people, declared an intangible heritage of humanity by the UN, despite the extinction of speakers of that language. Bolívar assigned them a territory for their participation in the independence struggle, and now they are trying to recover their language, essential for their historical survival. We can see in the responses of the different ethnic groups the general concern to revive and preserve their "mother tongue," essential for survival and the life of their generations.
The emphasis on seeing and thinking exclusively about their history, experiences, and traditions is understandable due to the need to survive in a globalized world that drags the faceless universal being into the service of an economy and universal powers that seek to dominate humanity for the sake of technological and military supremacy. The future may be one of a submissive humanity, necessary to obtain its food and basic services.
The interviewees' ideas can point to ways to rescue indigenous peoples
| [21] | Mosonyi and Bracho. (2010). The Rescue of Ancestral Indigenous Wisdom as a Contribution to a New World. A Reunderstanding and Update of the Indigenous Theme. The Dog and the Frog. |
[21]
and also support a Venezuela with a solid identity and a sociopolitical structure
| [14] | Kuhn, T. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. |
[14]
capable of charting the paths for a nation of peace and progress.
6.3.1. Transcribe the Revaluation of Indigenous Peoples Expressed by Three Interviewees
Indigenous peoples have a culture full of values, knowledge, and customs (languages, thoughts, philosophies, worldview, art, medicine, gastronomy, social organization, families, lands, and natural resources, etc.). After so much abuse, we must work to rebuild our civilization to ensure our future as a people (kari'ña). / It is necessary to learn from the culture that our parents, grandparents, and ancestors have taught us. The way of life that our parents teach us from a young age: work, how to fish, how to plant or farm, how to treat a wound or use a plant for healing. The practice of cultural identity is good because it teaches the culture, the worldview of Indigenous life, and sees the future of their people as a cultural root (jivi A). / Our identity is oneself, and our knowledge and training are instilled from a very early age. We practice our language daily and use plants to cure different illnesses (jivi B).
6.3.2. And Regarding the Demands of Indigenous Peoples Today, They Respond
a) Organization; b) Study, training, and capacity building; c) Raising self-esteem; d) Restoration of languages; d) Recovery of medicinal knowledge; e) Recovery of leadership and governance roles as basic elements for their own autonomy and development (kari'ña 1); / Health, the availability of medicines that affect the inhabitants, such as malaria, parasites, and others; public services such as river, land, and air transportation; education with good teachers who teach bilingual intercultural communication; electricity and technological means such as the internet (jivi A); There are many areas, including health and education, among others (jivi B).
6.4. Need to Conserve Their Territories: Yes, It Is Necessary
They can and should conserve their lands to constitute their life; they owe it to them (kari'ña); / Their lands are very important for indigenous peoples because without them we are nobody. For indigenous people, the land is their home, their grandfather, their mother; there is a connection with the land; from there, their entire culture and ancestry are born (jivi A); / The land and territory as such are important for indigenous people, where they move freely in their space
| [27] | Pereira, N. (2019). The Timote Indigenous Community and Its Living Space. University of Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. |
[27]
, where they practice their way of life daily in their culture; without that, there is no progress (jivi B); / Peoples and communities still conserve their territory, nature, and their habitat (ye'kwana).
6.5. Venezuela and All Its Members Need to Unite to Shape Their Histories and Traditions into an Integrated Multicultural Unit with Shared Goals
Dialogue and relations must be based on the community, people, and ethnic group as entities of absolute and equal value. Each group is equally fundamental, regardless of their size or numerical superiority; there is no greater or lesser. It is not a question of power, ideology, or ancestral pretensions or castes. It is essential to help ethnic groups organize and consolidate their programmatic identity for their survival. Each people is an emblem, becoming a living metaphor for their being and their environment.
At the end of recreational events, a national entity integrating all indigenous peoples is important, not only Indigenous peoples, but also Afro-Venezuelans and the colonial peoples who constituted the original Creole communities. All these peoples are united by ancestry, myths, cultures, and founding generations of what is now Venezuela. The goal is to create an institution that represents them completely independent of political, economic, and religious powers. It is necessary to have a capable voice, not only one that recognizes them, but one that provides guidelines and guidance to consolidate their identities.
This is what the respondents wrote:
I think it is necessary to form and found a National or Regional Organization of Indigenous Peoples to strengthen the rights of each Indigenous community. Although a national and other regional organizations currently exist, they are already corrupted by the very purpose for which they were created and elected. The people who lead them do not want to renew their leadership because they have particular interests or policies. Therefore, it is necessary to work on creating new Indigenous organizations with new visions of struggle for their communities and truly defending the rights of Indigenous peoples. They do not negotiate with the government, but rather strengthen and defend the rights established in the laws (jivi A); / Each Indigenous community has its organizations present, so that they can have a unified voice (jivi B).
The dream-vision expressed above can be realized through an open and inclusive national dialogue across all spheres, especially promoted by national universities and institutions dedicated to the common good, whether educational, healthcare, economic, political, and cultural-religious.
Regarding the national dialogue, those surveyed write:
Debates on the ideas of height, respect, and mutual recognition, that we all have the right to life, we have values, we all need each other (kari'ña); /...intercultural relationships or the connection of cultures while respecting each other are necessary, as long as you are right; cultural education is necessary, as is dialogue between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples; prior consultation is important for Indigenous peoples; only by recognizing others as persons and their cultures can we coexist in a society where economic, communicational, or even religious power prevails. In this case, I join the struggle that Indigenous peoples have every day for our lands and legitimately won rights (jivi A).
Whether it's the proposal of an institution to be the voice of indigenous peoples or the need for dialogue, it happens and is possible when indigenism and the Creole world accept arguments with ethnohistorical and conceptual knowledge facilitated by the ancient wisdom of the various peoples and their origins.
We can start with the following reflection: "Today, social discrimination still exists, linking indigenous peoples to it, and confrontations arise from there, seeking Westernized hierarchy (ref. jivi B). And the other opinion: "For us, culture is considered transcendental and laments European ignorance. It deplores the imposition of European weapons and cultures (ref. kari'ña)."
Both positions must be overcome, and everything must be done based on knowledge supported by research and, at the same time, a free approach, based on mutual recognition as the beginning of a journey together.
Paul Ricoeur's thought trajectory ranges from the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl to the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, expanding his study in the field of textual interpretation to include new domains such as mythology, exegesis, psychoanalysis, historiography, the theory of metaphor, and narratology. His work can illuminate the path to fraternity. With or without Paul Ricoeur, everything happens through a high-level and respectful confrontation for a Venezuela that must consolidate its identity and chart paths of coexistence and fraternity.
Recall Article 25 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
| [33] | The rights of indigenous peoples by Amnesty International. 12/24/2024, 5:54 a.m. |
| [34] | UN: Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, (2024. UN Committee urges Venezuela to take measures against discrimination against Indigenous peoples and people of African descent). |
| [35] | UN reports on August 23, 2024, on human rights in Venezuela. See: February 1, 2025, 5:00 a.m. |
[33-35]
“Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and strengthen their own spiritual relationship with the lands, territories, waters, coastal seas and other resources which they have traditionally owned or occupied and used, and to assume their responsibilities to succeeding generations in this regard”.
Abbreviations
P. C. I | Indigenous Peoples and Communities |
IWGIA | International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs |
GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
IPS | Inter Press Service |
INE | National Institute of Statistics |
MINPPA | Ministry of People's Power for Food |
Kuyunu | the Ye'kwana organization of Alto Ventuari |
UNHCR | Activities for Indigenous Populations of the UN Refugee Agency |
LOPCI | Organic Law of Indigenous Peoples and Communities |
ELN or FARC | Guerrilla Groups |
CRBV | Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela |
CONIVE | National Indian Council of Venezuela |
Author Contributions
Vittorio Favaretto is the sole author. The author read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflicts of interset.
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Cite This Article
-
-
@article{10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16,
author = {Vittorio Favaretto},
title = {The Persistence of the Venezuelan Indigenous World
},
journal = {International Journal of Science, Technology and Society},
volume = {13},
number = {5},
pages = {222-239},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsts.20251305.16},
abstract = {This essay aims to show the situation of Venezuelan Indigenous peoples in these difficult times, due to the national economic situation, government abandonment, and finally, the legal and illegal gold and coltan mining industries. The five surveys of Indigenous professionals, from different ethnicities and places, reveal the deplorable situation of subsistence and disease that plagues Indigenous peoples in their habitat, yet they are rooted in their origins. Their vivid awareness of being Indigenous and their desire to survive as peoples rich in history, cultures, and traditions, and to continue speaking their native languages and, as far as possible, in their native territory as an indelible emblem of their stories and ancestry, are crucial. Indigenous peoples have paradigmatic consistency that unites them in their ethnohistory and in the process of forming their myths and languages, which distinguish them and, at the same time, articulate them through their struggles, confrontations, labor, and exchanges of goods and values. The situation, generally one of covert submission, must be overcome through recognition, which must be achieved through a high-level confrontation and respect for a nationality that must consolidate its identity and forge paths of coexistence and fraternity. Currently, the Venezuelan indigenous community is under strict government control, which obstructs any publication critical of the regime and information about the sad situations of Venezuelan ethnic groups in order to cover food, healthcare, education, and keep their territories free from mining invasions and the trafficking of women and men for slave labor as a necessity for survival. Imprisonment without trial is constant, and fear prevents publicity about the current lamentable situations of the Venezuelan indigenous community.
},
year = {2025}
}
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Persistence of the Venezuelan Indigenous World
AU - Vittorio Favaretto
Y1 - 2025/10/22
PY - 2025
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16
DO - 10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16
T2 - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
JF - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
JO - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society
SP - 222
EP - 239
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2330-7420
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20251305.16
AB - This essay aims to show the situation of Venezuelan Indigenous peoples in these difficult times, due to the national economic situation, government abandonment, and finally, the legal and illegal gold and coltan mining industries. The five surveys of Indigenous professionals, from different ethnicities and places, reveal the deplorable situation of subsistence and disease that plagues Indigenous peoples in their habitat, yet they are rooted in their origins. Their vivid awareness of being Indigenous and their desire to survive as peoples rich in history, cultures, and traditions, and to continue speaking their native languages and, as far as possible, in their native territory as an indelible emblem of their stories and ancestry, are crucial. Indigenous peoples have paradigmatic consistency that unites them in their ethnohistory and in the process of forming their myths and languages, which distinguish them and, at the same time, articulate them through their struggles, confrontations, labor, and exchanges of goods and values. The situation, generally one of covert submission, must be overcome through recognition, which must be achieved through a high-level confrontation and respect for a nationality that must consolidate its identity and forge paths of coexistence and fraternity. Currently, the Venezuelan indigenous community is under strict government control, which obstructs any publication critical of the regime and information about the sad situations of Venezuelan ethnic groups in order to cover food, healthcare, education, and keep their territories free from mining invasions and the trafficking of women and men for slave labor as a necessity for survival. Imprisonment without trial is constant, and fear prevents publicity about the current lamentable situations of the Venezuelan indigenous community.
VL - 13
IS - 5
ER -
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