U Wa Tribe Case Study Summary

Following the decision of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, or Oxy, to begin oil exploration on U’wa land in Colombia in 1992, the U’wa tribe began to take action against the environmental injustice committed against them by the Oxy corporation, as well as the Colombian government. In 1996, the U’wa, a peaceful tribe of nearly 5,000 people who live in the Colombian cloud forests, released U’wa Chita, in which they outlined the challenges they faced, as well as reaffirmed their identity as the U’wa people and their claim to the land (Project Underground). As a peaceful tribe, the U’wa have utilized solely non-violent means of protest, including further publications against Oxy and the Colombian government, as well as roadblocks and sit-ins

Like the case of the Western Shoshone tribe and their struggle against radioactive ecocide in Nevada, the U’wa utilized non-violent means of protest, such as roadblocks and sit-ins to prevent Oxy from accessing drill sites. Like the in the case of the Western Shoshone, the U’wa’s utilization of roadblocks and sit-ins is a direct response to both the high violence and militarization, as well as to the corporation’s capitalist goals. Similar to other case studies presented throughout the quarter, the case of the U’wa struggle illuminates the role of tribal sovereignty and treaties in the IEM, or indigenous environmental movement. While other tribes in the US had been granted tribal sovereignty and land rights through treaties, the U’wa lacked legal affirmation of their right to their ancestral territory. In the IEM, treaties have been used as political and legal leverage to assert rights and hold the US accountable. However, with a lack of legal affirmation to the full extent of their ancestral territory, the U’wa struggle is further complicated, making it more difficult for the U’wa and their allies to

This dehumanization stems from a legacy of colonization, through which indigenous populations were stripped of their human and environmental rights and forced into treaties that served to solely benefit the imperialist nation-state. Through the dehumanization of indigenous populations, government and corporate entities justify the theft of land, exploitation of resources, and overall violence against peaceful populations. The existence of environmental racism and the degradation of indigenous populations and their land and resources for profit highlights the connection between environmentalism, classism, and racism, as the ecological and human rights crisis studied throughout the course are driven by hegemonic capitalist and white supremacist