Indigenous amazon community fights to preserve sacred forest traditions as modern life encroaches

For generations, the Cubeo Macaquiño people of Colombia’s Vaupés region have lived in harmony with the Amazon rainforest, guided by deep spiritual connections to the land and water around them. Elisa Fernández Sánchez recalls childhood journeys with her mother, navigating canoes through dense river channels to reach traditional forest gardens—a daily ritual that embodied their community’s reverence for nature’s sacred sites.

The Macaquiño community operates under strict spiritual protocols overseen by the payé, an Indigenous authority who must pray to forest spirits before entering sacred areas. This careful relationship with nature has helped maintain the health of their territory for centuries. As Captain Manuel Claudio Fernández explains, “the community does not care for the land; they co-exist with it” through respect for the intricate connections between spirits, water, forest, and humans.

However, this delicate balance faces mounting pressures from cultural changes threatening to disrupt traditional ways of life. The Macaquiño are one of four Indigenous communities within the Association of Traditional Indigenous Authorities Surrounding Mitú (AATIAM), which holds state-recognized autonomous governance rights. As modern influences increasingly penetrate remote Amazon regions, these communities must navigate preserving ancestral knowledge while adapting to contemporary challenges.

The story highlights a broader struggle across the Amazon basin, where Indigenous communities serve as crucial guardians of biodiversity while confronting forces that could undermine traditional ecological practices passed down through generations.