Indigenous leaders in Colombia are speaking out against twin arson attacks on Kankuamo religious temples in the Sierra Nevada region of Santa Marta. The attacks come days after the region's indigenous leaders canceled meetings with the Colombian government regarding 400 mining and energy project consultations in their territory. This is just the latest attack on the region's indigenous groups. Colombia's indigenous communities rarely get justice and many of the crimes against them go unsolved.
UNESCO recognizes the importance of the Sierra Nevada region of Santa Marta for its environmental and archaeological contributions. The Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta "is the highest coastal mountain range in the world," and the region "contains samples of all existing biomes in Colombia," says UNESCO. There are also 300 archaeological settlements on record that date as far back as V and IX centuries A.D.
Sign and share this petition urging the Colombian government to investigate these twin arson attacks on Kankuamo religious temples and to have Interior Minister Aurelio Iragorri Valencia meet with indigenous leaders to discuss the current mining policies in their territory. It would be a crime to have mining operations destroy such diverse flora and fauna, archaeological treasures and the cultural and spiritual identities of one of Colombia's last indigenous groups.
Photo Credit: McKay Savage
