“Nosotras somos mujeres transformadoras/We are transformative women”: Oral histories with two Indigenous Misak women leaders of Colombia

• In Event: The echoes of protest and decolonization in LAC's education system

Proposal

Overview & Relevance to Theme of the Power of Protest

The Misak people, one of 115 Indigenous communities in Colombia, are deeply respected worldwide for their accomplishments in resisting colonialism and revitalizing their native language and culture, most notably for building a system of education from preschool to the university that represents their traditional values and worldview. After having successfully engaged in collective struggle to recover a large part of their ancestral land in 1980, the Misak organized to prioritize autonomy in their system of education, government, and health care under the slogan of “To Recover the Land Is To Recover Everything!” “Everything” meant all natural resources as well as aspects of their cultural identity – way of dress, language, traditions, thought – and “transmitting it to the present and future generations” (Cabildo Indígena del Pueblo Guambiano, 2002, p. 21).

Situated in the country’s southwest region of Cauca, the Misak - like so many of the world’s native peoples - have had to constantly resist historical and social forces in order to claim cultural practices without losing their identity. Recently, the Misak have played a highly active leadership role in protesting against cultural and political domination that persists in Colombia. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, in September 2020 the Misak organized the movement to dismantle statues of Spanish conquistadores, such as Sebastián Belalcázar, in Popayán, the provincial capital of Cauca. As Mercedes Tunubalá Velasco, Misak leader and the first Indigenous woman mayor of the municipality of Silvia, Cauca, expressed: “We have only learnt about one kind of history, through people like Belalcázar, and not the real history. We need to come together to decide how to commemorate that part of history, our indigenous history” (Tunubalá, as cited in Reuters, 2020). Furthermore, the Misak have been responsible for strengthening the national Indigenous movement through hosting in July 2022 the first nationwide Summit of Indigenous Peoples of Colombia, which brought nearly 30,000 representatives from all Indigenous communities to Silvia. The result of this conference was a list of demands delivered to the newly elected Leftist government of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez.

While Misak women have often provided the backbone of these historic and current protest movements, they rarely have been publicly recognized. To explore the nature of Misak women’s leadership, we present the voices and life stories of two Misak women warriors – Mercedes Tunubalá Velasco, political leader, and María Rosa Tombé Tunubalá, educational leader. As mentioned above, Mercedes is currently the mayor of Silvia and has been active in the fields of economics and government. María Rosa is a veteran primary school teacher and teacher trainer whose achievement in developing mother-tongue instruction led to her being selected as one of Colombia’s “illustrious teachers” in 2011 (Fundación Compartir, 2011). Both had parents deeply engaged in the struggle to recover ancestral land in the 1980s when the two women were young children. Through oral histories conducted with Mercedes and María Rosa in June 2023, we learn about how their upbringing and early experiences prepared them directly and indirectly for leadership roles in the Misak community. We also hear their dedication to lifting up their Misak sisters who still face gender-based violence, machismo and oppression.

Theory/Context

Using the theoretical/conceptual frameworks of decolonial feminism as developed by Lugones (2010) and Indigenous feminism as developed by Cabnal (2010), Paredes (2010) and Pictou (2020), this presentation aims to document and analyze how Misak women have enacted and redefined transformative leadership in their community in a way that honors and maintains their own unique Indigenous traditions and worldview.

Inquiry

The two co-authors have had the great privilege to have known the two Misak women for several years and spent time in their homes in Silvia, Cauca. Building upon their relationship of mutual trust, the co-authors conducted individual, hour-long oral histories in June 2023 with Mercedes and María Rosa, who want their life stories to be shared widely. They openly spoke about their childhoods, experiences of racial discrimination in Colombian schools, and struggles to achieve equal education and leadership positions. These interviews, audio-recorded and transcribed in Spanish, are now being reviewed by the narrators. Once approved, they will be translated into English and edited in narrative form in the style of Voice of Witness publications (Mayotte & Kiefer, 2018). The co-authors believe strongly in the power of oral history to project the voices of people in protest.

Preliminary Findings

Since these oral histories are now under review, the next steps are to identify generative themes and analyze these through the theoretical framework(s). Preliminary findings suggest:

1) The childhoods of the two women were marked by strict discipline and hard work, while exercising responsibility and independence, which they feel helped to prepare them for leadership roles as adults.
2) As young girls, the two women experienced discrimination based on race, gender, and language when in schools and society within and outside Misak territory. As mayor, Mercedes has continued to confront discrimination in the public sphere.
3) As young adults, the two women were strongly motivated toward higher education but had to struggle to afford it by balancing several different jobs.
4) Given the two women consistently dedicated much time and energy to the Misak community, they were naturally selected as leaders when positions opened up.
5) The two women are guided by Misak ancestral principles and spirituality.
6) The two women are deeply committed to uplifting Misak women who continue to endure oppression and mistreatment in society and at home.

Contribution

This study aims to contribute to understanding what women’s transformative leadership looks like within an Indigenous community in Latin America. While the two Misak women leaders do not necessarily identify as “feminist,” they have expressed in their narratives and demonstrated in practice a deep commitment to women and women’s rights anchored in relational principles of body autonomy, self-determination, community care, and non-violence.

Authors

• Patricia Rojas-Zambrano, University of San Francisco

• Susan Roberta Katz, University of San Francisco