Indigenous peoples in Venezuela
Encyclopedia
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
form about 1.5% of the total population
Demographics of Venezuela
The Demographics of Venezuela are the condition and overview of Venezuela's peoples. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.-Overview:...
, although many Venezuelans share some indigenous ancestry. Indigenous peoples are concentrated in the southern Amazon rainforest state of Amazonas
Amazonas (Venezuelan state)
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided.The state capital is Puerto Ayacucho. The capital until the early 1900s was San Fernando de Atabapo. Although named after the Amazon River, most of the state is drained by the Orinoco. Amazonas State covers a total surface...
, where they make up nearly 50% of the population, and in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
of the western state of Zulia
Zulia
Zulia State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. In June 30, 2010, it had an estimated population of 3,821,068, giving it the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is located in the northwestern part of the country...
. The most numerous indigenous people, at about 200,000, is the Venezuelan part of the Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
(or Guajiro) people who primarily live in Zulia between Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...
and the Colombian border. Another 100,000 or so indigenous people live in the sparsely populated southeastern states of Amazonas, Bolívar, and Delta Amacuro
Delta Amacuro
Delta Amacuro State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, and is the location of the Orinoco Delta. The Paria Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean are found to the north, Bolívar State is found to the south, the Atlantic Ocean and Guyana are found to the east, and Monagas State is found to the west...
. There are at least 26 indigenous groups in Venezuela, including the Ya̧nomamö, Pemon, Warao people, Baniwa people, Kali'na people
Kali'na people
The Kali'na, also known as the Karib, Kaliña, Galibi, Kalina, Karina, Carina, Kalinha, Kariña, Kari’ña, or Karinya people, are an Indigenous ethnic group found in several countries on the Caribbean coast of South America. In language and culture they are Cariban.-Name:The origin of the name given...
, Motilone Barí
Motilone Barí
The Motilone, or Bari are names of a Native American ethnic group, part of the Chibcha family, remnants of the Tairona Culture concentrated in northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela in the Catatumbo River basin, in the Colombian Department of Northern Santander in the Sierra Nevada de Santa...
and Ye'kuana
Ye'kuana
The Ye'kuana, also called Ye'Kuana, Yekuana, Yequana, Yecuana, Dekuana, Maquiritare, Makiritare, So'to or Maiongong, are a Cariban-speaking tropical rain forest tribe who live in the Caura River and Orinoco River regions of Venezuela in Bolivar State and Amazonas State...
.
History
It is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish ConquestSpanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
; it may have been around a million people, and in addition to today's peoples included groups such as the Auaké
Auaké
Auaké is a Native South American nation of the Amazonia of Venezuela and Brazil. They were sedentary slash-and-burn farmers, which requires periodic relocation as soil becomes exhausted, and were also hunters, fishers and gatherers. They spoke Arutani...
, Caquetio
Caquetio
Caquetio, Caiquetio, or Caiquetia, were Indians of northwestern Venezuela, living along the shores of Lake Maracaibo at the time of the Spanish conquest. They moved inland to avoid enslavement by the Spaniards but were eventually destroyed as were their neighbours, the Quiriquire and the Jirajara...
, Mariche
Mariche
Mariche is the name of a former native Venezuelan tribe.Not much information from them as a tribe has survived to the present day. It is known that they lived in what is now called Filas de Mariches, distrito Sucre, Estado Miranda and in the area of El Hatillo both near Caracas, Venezuela, where...
and Timoto-cuicas
Timoto-cuicas
Timoto–Cuica people were an indigenous group compromised primarily of two tribes, the Timotes and the Cuicas, that inhabited in the Andean region of western Venezuela. They were closely related to the Muisca, or also known as the Chibchas, indigenous people of the Andes...
. The number was much reduced after the Conquest, mainly through the spread of new diseases from Europe. There were two main north-south axes of pre-Columbian population, producing maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
in the west and manioc in the east. Large parts of the llanos
Llanos
The Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome....
plains were cultivated through a combination of slash and burn
Slash and burn
Slash-and-burn is an agricultural technique which involves cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields. It is subsistence agriculture that typically uses little technology or other tools. It is typically part of shifting cultivation agriculture, and of transhumance livestock...
and permanent settled agriculture. The indigenous peoples of Venezuela had already encountered crude oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
s and asphalts that seeped up through the ground to the surface. Known to the locals as mene, the thick, black liquid was primarily used for medicinal purposes, as an illumination source, and for the caulking of canoes.
Cumaná
Cumaná is the capital of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located 402 km east of Caracas. It was the first settlement founded by Europeans in the mainland America, in 1501 by Franciscan friars, but due to successful attacks by the indigenous people, it had to be refounded several times...
. The name "Venezuela" is said to derive from palafito
Palafito
A palafito is a stilt village or dwelling erected on bodies of water. The name Venezuela, meaning "Little Venice," may be due to these Palafitos, which reminded Amerigo Vespucci of Venice when he explored Lake Maracaibo...
villages on Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...
reminding Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer, financier, navigator and cartographer. The Americas are generally believed to have derived their name from the feminized Latin version of his first name.-Expeditions:...
of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(hence "Venezuela", or "little Venice"). Indian cacique
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
s (leader
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
s) such as Guaicaipuro
Guaicaipuro
Guaicaipuro was a native Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro.-Life:...
(circa 1530–1568) and Tamanaco
Tamanaco
Tamanaco was a native Venezuelan chief, who as leader of the Mariches and Quiriquires tribes led during part of the 16th century the resistance against the Spanish conquest of Venezuelan territory in the central region of the country, specially in the Caracas valley...
(died 1573) attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but the newcomers ultimately subdued them. Historians agree that the founder of Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Diego de Losada
Diego de Losada
Diego de Losada was a Spanish conquistador and the founder of Santiago de León de Caracas, the current capital of Venezuela.Losada was born in Rionegro del Puente, in what is now the province of Zamora. He reached Puerto Rico in 1533....
, ultimately put Tamanaco to death. Some of the resisting tribes or the leaders are commemorated in place names, including Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, Chacao
Chacao
Chacao may refer to the following articles:*Chacao Municipality - a municipality of Caracas, Venezuela*Chacao Channel*Chacao Channel bridge*Chacao , a Venezuelan cacique from the 16th century*Chacao Indian...
, and Los Teques
Los Teques
Los Teques is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Miranda. Its population is 140,617 .-History:The city was founded in 1777 and was named after the Aractoeques Carabs, an indigenous tribe that once inhabited the area...
. The early colonial settlements focussed on the northern coast, but in the mid-eighteenth century the Spanish pushed further inland along the Orinoco River. Here the Ye'kuana
Ye'kuana
The Ye'kuana, also called Ye'Kuana, Yekuana, Yequana, Yecuana, Dekuana, Maquiritare, Makiritare, So'to or Maiongong, are a Cariban-speaking tropical rain forest tribe who live in the Caura River and Orinoco River regions of Venezuela in Bolivar State and Amazonas State...
(then known as the Makiritare) organised serious resistance in 1775 and 1776. Under Spanish colonization, several religious orders established mission stations. The Jesuits withdrew in the 1760s, while the Capuchin
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
s found their missions of strategic significance in the War of Independence
Venezuelan War of Independence
-The First Republic:Criollos resented the mercantilist policies of Spain. Trade was only allowed in Pacific ports which was a terrible burden for Argentina, Paraguay and the Caribbean colonies. This is significant as Cuba and Puerto Rico were forced to allow free trade in 1763 by Britain and...
, and in 1817 were brutally taken over by the forces of Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
. For the remainder of the nineteenth century governments did little for indigenous peoples, and they were pushed away from the country's agricultural centre to the periphery.
In 1913, during a rubber boom
Rubber boom
The rubber boom was an important part of the economic and social history of Brazil and Amazonian regions of neighboring countries, being related with the extraction and commercialization of rubber...
, a Colonel Tomas Funes seized control of Amazonas' San Fernando de Atabapo
San Fernando de Atabapo
San Fernando de Atabapo was the capital city of Venezuela's Amazonas state until the early 1900s. The population in 1997 was approximately 5,000....
, killing over 100 settlers. In the following nine years in which Funes controlled the town, Funes destroyed dozens of Ye'kuana
Ye'kuana
The Ye'kuana, also called Ye'Kuana, Yekuana, Yequana, Yecuana, Dekuana, Maquiritare, Makiritare, So'to or Maiongong, are a Cariban-speaking tropical rain forest tribe who live in the Caura River and Orinoco River regions of Venezuela in Bolivar State and Amazonas State...
villages, and killed several thousand Ye'kuana.
In October 1999 Pemon destroyed a number of electricity pylons
Transmission tower
A transmission tower is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes...
constructed to carry electricity from the Guri Dam
Guri Dam
The Guri Dam is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela on the Caroni River. Its official name is Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar...
to Brazil. The Pemon argued that cheap electricity would encourage further development by mining companies. The $110m project was completed in 2001.
Political organization
The National Council of Venezuelan IndiansNational Council of Venezuelan Indians
The National Council of Venezuelan Indians is a political party in Venezuela.At the Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2000, the party won 3 out of 165 seats in the National Assembly of Venezuela. At the Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2010 it won 1 seat.-External links:*...
(Consejo Nacional Indio de Venezuela, CONIVE) was formed in 1989, and represents the majority of indigenous peoples, with 60 affiliates representing 30 peoples. In September 1999 indigenous peoples "marched on the National Congress in Caracas to pressure the Constitutional Assembly for the inclusion of important pro-Indian provisions in the new constitution, such as the right to ownership, free transit across international borders, free choice of nationality, and land demarcation within two years."
Legal rights
Prior to the creation of the 1999 constitution of VenezuelaConstitution of Venezuela
||The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that had been created by popular referendum. Adopted in December 1999, it replaced the 1961 Constitution - the longest...
, legal rights for indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
were increasingly lagging behind other Latin American countries, which were progressively enshrining a common set of indigenous collective rights in their national constitutions. The 1961 constitution had actually been a step backward from the 1947 constitution, and the indigenous rights law foreseen in it languished for a decade, unpassed by 1999.
Ultimately the 1999 constitutional process
1999 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela
The 1999 Constituent Assembly of Venezuela was a constitutional convention held in Venezuela in 1999 to draft a new Constitution of Venezuela. The Assembly was endorsed by a referendum in April 1999 which enabled Constituent Assembly elections in July 1999...
produced "the region's most progressive indigenous rights regime". Innovations included Article 125's guarantee of political representation at all levels of government, and Article 124's prohibition on "the registration of patents related to indigenous genetic resources or intellectual property associated with indigenous knowledge." The new constitution followed the example of Colombia in reserving parliamentary seats for indigenous delegates (three in Venezuela's National Assembly
National Assembly of Venezuela
The National Assembly is the legislative branch of the Venezuelan government. It is a unicameral body made up of a variable number of members, who are elected by "universal, direct, personal, and secret" vote partly by direct election in state-based voting districts, and partly on a state-based...
); and it was the first Latin American constitution to reserve indigenous seats in state assemblies and municipal councils in districts with indigenous population.