U'wa vs Big Oil: A lifetime of Resistance and Resilience Against Extraction

Some people or groups of people are born fighters. Not necessarily because they want to fight but because society has placed them in roles in which they are required to fight. The U’wa Indigenous group in the northeastern Colombian Cloud Forests exist amongst the world's fighters. The U'wa people and their ancestors have been fighting to save their peoples, their lands, their culture, heritage and religions since the beginning of the 14th century.

The U’wa people, a deeply spiritual and resilient indigenous group with a population of about 7000, live in the remote northeastern Andes of Colombia  (Issue brief: Colombia’s U’wa people). U’wa people and their territory are distributed among 22 communities in the departments of Northern and Southern Santander, Boyaca, Casanare, and Arauca (Colombia-U’wa, 2015). U’wa people consider it their role to protect the earth and have gone to great lengths to do so.

Beginning in the 14th century when Spanish conquistadors arrived in Colombia, the northeastern Andes have been subjected to mass extraction. Colonizers forced indigenous groups off their land and spread disease throughout their communities, and extracted resources from their lands. U’wa experienced a significant decrease of their population as a result of the violence and deadly diseases that conquistadors brought to Colombia. “U’wa lost nearly two-thirds of their population to disease through the devastation of contact with Spanish conquistadors, slave traders and missionaries.” (Rodriguez, J., 2019). Additionally, many indigenous peoples were enslaved and forced to work on mines, despite having strong beliefs against resource extraction. Eventually, some U’wa people were able to resist against forced labour by commiting mass suicide. U’wa see any type of resource extraction as harming Mother Earth and would therefore rather die than harm what they seek to protect. Mass suicide became a resistance strategy that U’wa has become internationally known for and one that they continue to use today. “Berito Cobaria, president of the Traditional U'wa Authority, proclaimed, "[We] would rather die, protecting everything that we hold sacred, than lose everything that makes us U'wa.'' Additionally, U’wa was subjected to vast land loss during Spanish colonization. Historically the U'wa ancestral territory covered an area of some 1.4 million hectares of land. Today however, this territory has been vastly reduced, amounting to 200,000 hectares or 14% of what they previously possessed (Colombia-U’wa, 2015).  Ultimately, U’wa people were forced to abandon their own land and move into the mountains in order to protest against conquerors. “For the next 200 years, U’wa took refuge in the mountains which protected them from Spanish domination and extermination due to the difficult and rugged terrain. (Minority Rights Group International). The horrors of colonization forced U’wa people to develop the resistance strategies that have aided them in fighting against oppression and protecting their land.While it is important to acknowledge the atrocities that were committed during Spanish colonization, it is also important to recognize the strength of many indigenous groups, whom were able to rise up and resist against colonizers at a time in which everything had been taken from them.

In More recent times the gas and oil industry has been perpetuating colonial ideology on what is known to be U’wa ancestral land. Occidental Petroleum Company (Oxy), a US based leader in oil and gas exploration and production, had their eyes set on Samorés Block, a region in the Northeastern Andes consisting of Arauca, Boyacá, and Norte de Santander where in the early 1990s oil exploration of an 800-square-mile portion began (Rodriguez, J., 2019). It was thought that this region contained 2500 barrels of crude oil (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ), summing to about 150,000 US gallons (Barrels of oil equivalent).

Functioning under a capitalistic model, Oxy’s primary goal is maximization of profits. Oxy wanted to drill on the Samoré Block to expand on their oil activities that were present in Colombia and to gain revenue, which they estimated to be 14 billion US dollars (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ). Oxy is associated with projects that have resulted in wide-spread injustices. Most notably the Love Canal disaster in New York.

U’wa claims ancestral ties to the Samore Block region and understand oil to be the  blood of mother earth. They therefore see that extraction of such oil is thus representative of the death of their mother (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ). “Oil is the blood of Mother Earth ... to take the oil is, for us, worse than killing your own mother. If you kill the earth, then no one will live” (Issue brief: Colombia’s U’wa people ).Despite governmental recognition of U’wa land and resources as ancestral territory, their rights have not been upheld by the state. In 1991 Colombia’s constitution underwent significant reform, establishing a decentralized democratic governmental regime, and promoting human rights (OpenAI). Under this new constitution, Indigenous peoples were granted the right to oversee uses of the land and settlement on their territories, design programs involved with economic and social development, oversee implementation of investments on their land, and oversee conservation of natural resources on their territories (Colombia 1991 (rev. 2015) constitution). The constitution also mandates prior consultation of indigenous peoples for an engagement of projects within their demarcated lands (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ). While the constitution formally recognizes and promises legal protection over indigenous lands and resources, it is clear that when faced with an opportunity for economic growth, the rights recognized in the constitution are not upheld. When states and corporate actors are in agreement, the accountability of domestic frameworks are not upheld. In the case of the U’wa, lack of accountability within legal frameworks leads to oppressive extraction, creating a barrier for the U’wa people to serve their role as protectors of Mother Earth.

In 1992, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) applied for an exploration license for the Samoré Block. A couple years later in 1995, The Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Ministry of the Environment, who were responsible for exploration licenses, granted Oxy with a license for exploration without formal approval from U’wa. U’wa, angered by the complete denial of Oxy’s constitutional requirement for consultation with U’wa prior to extraction, filed for legal recourse which eventually reached the Colombian Constitutional Court. The court ruled that U'wa’s right to prior meaningful consultation under domestic constitutional guarantees had been violated (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ). However, shortly after, the Council of State issued an approval of the licenses holding that Oxy did consult U’wa prior to beginning exploration. While U’wa assured that they had not been consulted regarding exploration, Oxy insisted that U’wa had signed a memorandum that established conditions for exploration (Miranda, L. A. , 2006 ). U’wa denied signing the memorandum and stated that they had only signed an attendance sheet and had made clear that Oxy would need to meet with U’wa elders prior to any exploration. In 1996  after refusal of Colombian government to uphold U’wa’s constitutional rights, U’wa retreated to a formerly used resistance tactic, vowing to commit collective mass suicide if drilling plans went forward as they would rather die than watch the destruction of both their native land and culture (Rodriguez, J., 2019). In addition to U’wa’s threat of mass suicide, there were protests in the international community. In 1997 a group of about 50 demonstrators, led by U’wa chief Roberto Cobaria, gathered outside the headquarters of Oxy in Los Angeles, peacefully protesting against Oxy activity on U’wa land (Murillo, S. D. & M., 2007). Despite a small population, U’wa people organized several protests, showing up to protect their land. Meanwhile, in 1997 after efforts had failed within domestic courts, U’wa filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission to review the case. With the help of the OAS it was eventually ruled that oil activity in the Samoré region should be suspended until proper consultation had been undergone. The Colombian government was then forced to halt oil operations and in addition expanded U'wa demarcated territory from 98,000 acres to 543,000 acres (Rodriguez, J., 2019), signifying a win for U’wa. However, this victory was short lived as the government granted Oxy exploration rights to land adjacent to their expanded territory. U'wa and various organizations protested the newly granted exploration of oil, as consultation was still not upheld.

Eventually, in 2002 Oxy pulled out from their projects in the region due to insufficient oil on the land that they were granted rights to. Even Though Oxy abandoned the region, this did not symbolize an end to the battle against oil extraction that U’wa people have been long fighting, but rather just gave way for the next corporation to enter and seek exploration rights, repeating the same story and injustices that were seen in the case with Oxy. Despite what may have seen like a victory for U’wa, proceeding Oxy’s departure, rights to oil on land overlapping with U’wa territory was transferred to Ecopetrol. Ecopetrol is a Colombian state-owned oil and gas company that is pursuing and beginning operations in the Samoré region. The land is close to the Gibraltar wells, which U’wa consider to be a sacred water source. Ecopetrol’s operations have led to significant environmental and human health risks, polluting waterways. U’wa has said that continuation of the project will lead to the death of the sacred Cubogón river that feeds into the Arauca river (Issue brief: Colombia’s U’wa people - amazon watch). Additionally, Ecopetrol operations have perpetuated social conflict, causing an increase in guerilla groups in the region. U’wa once again must prepare to fight back as they always have. U’wa has outlined clear demands for the government but not all of them have been met.

Oil and gas industries have caused vast cases of injustice within indigenous communities throughout the world. From the Dakota Access Pipeline passing through Native Sioux land, to the benzene rich sludges in Ponca territory in Oklahoma caused by ConocoPhillips, to the threat that oil extraction poses for indigenous communities in Ecuador, to the risk that Occidental Petroleum has created to the culture and land of the U’wa tribe in Colombia. Within all of these cases exists the commonality of power abuse in order to maximize profits. These cases demonstrate injustice in which wealthy oil and gas companies strategically target and cause harm to marginalized communities. A typical case of injustice in which corporations sacrifice the health of those with less power.

This case leads me to beg the question of the value of the Colombian constitution? For whom are constitutional laws upheld and for whom are they mere words written in inc? What are the mechanisms and systems that have allowed for corporate actors to get away with infraction of constitutional laws and how can imposition of accountability be held? When and how can indigenous communities gain a voice? When will the protection that is outlined in the constitution become a reality? When will U’wa be able to peacefully live on the land that they are meant to protect?

U’wa has been subject to immense injustices throughout history, yet have continuously shown resilience despite their low position of power. Peaceful protests both locally and internationally along with threats of mass suicide has kept this group alive and has made them a widely known indigenous group despite their small population, however, how long will U’wa be able to protest.

Figure 1: Map showing region where U’wa people reside

References

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