“Speaking of sexual diversity in the territories is difficult. Indigenous communities are deeply rooted in our culture, which does not accept gays, lesbians, trans or anyone who does not identify as male or female. These people are often forced to marry or expelled from the clans and reservations.”
(Also read: The wounds that the armed conflict has left on ethnic peoples).
This is the testimony of Bayirian Miranda, an LGBTIQ+ Koreguaje indigenous leader and one of the few visible voices of the diverse population that lives in hiding in the most remote regions. There, between jungles, state neglect and armed conflict, they face a double struggle: belonging to an ethnic group and seeking to claim their rights as a community, and being homosexualsopposing the cultural discrimination of this condition.
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Spirituality is the basis of the principles that govern the ways of life of ancestral peoples. And although all the cosmovisions are different –the Nasa, Wayú, Koreguaje, Emberá, among others–, they are similar in the creation of man and woman as the only gender roles. This dogma has remained inherent in the indigenous essence until today and, despite the fact that the opening to the West made other identities visible, they are reluctant to accept them in their idiosyncrasies.
“Based on our beliefs, we conceive LGBTIQ+ people as a product of spiritual disharmony. For this reason, if any of the members of the community comes out of the closet, they are prevented from participating in the rituals and are relegated from the roles that are commonly assigned in the clans,” says Diana Collazos Cayacú, a researcher and spokesperson for the Nasa people.
Although the worldviews are different, the majority of ancestral peoples believe in men and women as the only gender roles.
It is precisely this clash of identities that complicates the discrimination of the diverse population within minority groups, since their ethnic belonging is affected, forcing them to renounce it or to repress their sexuality; a dilemma with disastrous psychosocial consequences.
“I call it the fight within the fight, because within the common cause that we have as indigenous communities, there are homosexual colleagues, including trans, who also seek recognition. They are people who have contributed so much in the defense of our rights, but they are not repaid by their own people, who underestimate them and ignore their needs”, adds the NASA researcher.
(You may be interested in: La Rubiera Massacre: They gave 16 indigenous people sancocho and killed them).
The passage of war
To this reality must be added the violence exercised by the armed actors specifically against this social group that, being more exposed to war because of being in such remote places, was the victim of all kinds of humiliations that left a deep scar that continues to hurt. walking the long road of acceptance.
Álvaro Martín Guerrero, an LGBTIQ+ leader from Putumayo, suffered in his own flesh during the conflict victimizing acts due to his sexual condition andin turn, for this same reason, the exclusion of their community.
“There is an abysmal difference between the dynamics of the countryside and the cities that increases the gender equity gap. In rural areas, for example, roles are still determined depending on whether you are a man or a woman, so those of us who have a different identity remain in limbo. In my case, which is gay, I was rejected for forced labor. They told me: how are they going to send him to throw a machete or to use that tool? That one is not good for that, it is like a woman… knowing that one has the same capacities as any man”.
Despite this situation, Álvaro decided to prepare tooth and nail to break the life sentence of stigmatization with which he seemed to have been born condemned. He became a professional and was ready to rebuild his life without depending on those “man” roles that were denied him.
However, the passage of the war knocked on his door and violated him from the most intimate, his diverse identity. From that moment on, he decided to take a leading voice to make visible his reality and that of others like him who, out of fear of the guerrillas, the paramilitaries and the rejection of their peoples, remained –and remain– in the shadows.
“Being a victim of the conflict due to my sexual condition, I decided to speak up for so many members of the diverse population who went through the same thing and who did it alone, without being able to receive support from their communities for fear of being rejected. I dared to be that voice of many who lived in fear of being recruited and massacred by armed groups or condemned by their own people.”, concludes Guerrero.
(Also: What support does the World Bank provide to indigenous peoples?).
Some LGBTIQ+ indigenous people, in order not to conflict with their ethnic identity, decided to live their sexuality for themselves, without publicly expressing their orientation.
ILLUSTRATION: JUAN FELIPE MURILLO – DIGITAL DESIGN EL TIEMPO
culture vs. diversity
Other LGBTIQ+ indigenous people, however, and thanks to the social conscience that has permeated the territories for better or worse, as well as in the context of the end of the conflict, they have found a middle ground to live with this double identity without conflict. Even from anonymity, José, an indigenous Inga, assures that he recognizes himself as a gay man, but he does not express it publicly but conceives it from his privacy.
“The social organization of our people is governed by family clans and any affectation of any member of the clan towards it leaves an indelible mark that reverberates from generation to generation. So, as a matter of status, with which we also play a role within the community, I have decided not to profess my sexuality. Although I think that deep inside my family they know it, nobody asks me about it and they are very respectful towards me because as an indigenous person I comply with the principles of the ethnic group: think well, not be a thief, not be a liar and not be lazy” says Jose.
Bayirian Miranda shares this position. “In the councils and reservations, out of respect for grandparents and the elderly, culture and diversity are not mixed. Therefore, it is a subject that many prefer to live in privacy, ”he adds.
the land gained
Despite the cloudy picture that is still perceived regarding the acceptance of sexual plurality in the depth of the communities, the LGBTIQ+ leaders They agree that every past time was worse, and that, although there are still great challenges, little progress has been made.
“In my childhood and youth it was terrible. From my own home I lived rejection, ridicule, stigmatization… Over the years that vehemence has been nuanced. Diverse indigenous people, whether they declare it openly or identify themselves, do not experience the harsh discrimination that I experienced about ten years ago,” says LGBTIQ+ leader Álvaro Guerrero.
Similarly, Bayirian, proud of the little but significant land gained, agrees with Álvaro. “We have participated in different activities and conferences in the territories talking about diversity, something that was unthinkable before. There are people who already understand us, others who don’t, but little by little we will conquer those hearts”, emphasizes the indigenous Koreguaje.
(Keep reading: The struggle of the first Misak woman to reach a mayor’s office in the country).
The diverse indigenous people, whether they declare it openly or identify themselves, do not experience the discrimination so staunch that I experienced about ten years ago
An example of these achievements was reflected in the last legislative elections, when Andrés Cancimance, an openly homosexual candidate whose political banner was the vindication of the rights of the LGBTIQ+ population, was elected as a representative to the Chamber for Putumayo, a region where – According to the last census, more than 20 percent of its inhabitants belong to some ethnic group.
“Many local media asked me if I wasn’t afraid of losing votes by identifying myself as a gay man. in a conservative and rural department; however, the results showed that it was not an impediment. We have a problem and it is that due to the war the diverse community has been one of the most victimized, hence the importance of making them visible and representing them”, indicates the now congressman.
Precisely, to emphasize this cause, on July 20, Cancimance decided to go to Congress in high heels, representing the LGBTIQ+ population, especially those who, like him, come from the territories; a vision with which he hopes to contribute to legislative work.
“The Congress of the Republic is a democratic space to claim rights that have been denied us due to discrimination and homophobia. I have personally suffered this violence, to which are added the social problems of coming from a rural area, from a border department in the south of the country. It is this vision, away from privileges, that I hope to contribute from my seat”, emphasizes the representative.
The representative said that it was a way to raise a voice for all people in the LGBTIQ+ community.
Twitter @CancimanceL
pending tasks
The resistance that sexual diversity still produces in the territories is due, to a large extent, to the lack of openness of local authorities regarding the issue and, therefore, their little or no prioritization in the communities’ agenda.
“Diverse identities are still a complex issue to address in the indigenous command. Once at a congress I raised it and they asked me if I was 50/50… We are so permeated with religion, our own spirituality, that we assume this as a disease or isolated cases. Sometimes they mention it, they recognize it, but they don’t take it very seriously,” says NASA researcher Collazos.
Similarly, according to LGBTI leaders, the lack of deepening of their contexts, the way in which they relate and live, prevents the application of a differential policy that helps to close the gap that, due to their double identity, sexual and ethnic, seems be even more extensive.
(You can see: Indigenous peoples: the solution to the crisis in the Amazon).
Only a few months ago did the task, led by Dane, begin to characterize the diverse population of the country. The registration is voluntary and anonymous –although the data is verified– and the information that results from this exercise will be the spearhead in the implementation of the LGBTIQ+ Public Policy that must reach all corners, including indigenous communities, to address their needs. specific needs.
We are so permeated with religion, our own spirituality, that we assume this as illness or isolated cases
In the regions, they hope that from this identification a pedagogical work can be built that does not generate disruption with ethnic cultural characteristics, but rather allows it to be a parallel theme with which the first steps are taken in the recognition of indigenous sexual diversity.
“The idea is to continue talking about diversity as far as we are allowed. Hold conferences and training, because many people in the territories do not know what that is. It is a struggle that many of us have made our own, but in reality it is collective. That is why we must make the community understand that we can also be LGBTI”, says Bayirian Miranda, from the Koreguaje people.
For her part, Diana Collazos, from the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (Cric), assures that a reflection has been initiated in the organization so that it is known that homosexuality and identities different from men and women exist.
“In the communities, it must be understood that it is something normal, before national policies arrive. They get nothing out of their implementation if the issue has not yet been accepted in the territories. For this we are also proposing to hold a meeting of sexual diversity, which would be a giant achievement. A dream. Because it consists of listening to them and knowing how this struggle is lived within the indigenous struggle.”
SARA VALENTINA QUEVEDO
THE TIME Editorial Office
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