The Emergence and Continuity of Indigenous Peoples' Movements: Latin America and Colombia

Indigenous peoples collective resistance activities and political interventions in Colombia and Latin America began in colonial times. However, it was not until the 1970s that indigenous peoples succeeded in consolidating their presence within national and international arenas as formally recognized political agents. As such, they have gained the power they need to change laws and political discourses related to rights, economic planning, development, the environment and democratization formerly denied to indigenous peoples in Latin America and Colombia as a matter of customary tradition or formal political exclusion.