August Researchers continue Roger Casement’s work supporting Amazonian people

Researchers at University of Galway are working with indigenous peoples deep in the Colombian Amazon to document their story - building on the legacy of Roger Casement.

The projects are led by a team from the University’s Huston School of Film and Digital Media and the Discipline of Geography, and continue the work of the executed Irish rebel who initially earned fame as a diplomat in the British government after he documented exploitation, atrocious cruelty and genocide of indigenous people by the British registered Peruvian Amazon Company.

For the past four years, Indigenous rights lawyer and University of Galway researcher Dr Brendan Tobin, supported by EU Marie Sklodowska Curie research funding, has been working on a documentary with the Bora, Muinane, Okaina and Uitoto peoples in the Predio Putumayo, Colombia’s largest indigenous reserve.

Video cameras have been donated to the people in the area by the University to support them in recording their story.

The focus of the documentary is to ensure the indigenous peoples take part in the telling of their own story, while also being trained in film production, editing and post-production.

Dr Brendan Tobin said: “In 1912 Roger Casement exposed the ‘extermination’ of Amazonian indigenous peoples of the Putumayo, during the rubber boom. A century on, the peoples of the region are seeking to bring their story to the world. If this helps prevent a future genocide of their peoples, or other indigenous peoples, it will, they say, give a death of dignity to the victims of the rubber era. The unquiet spirits can then rest in peace, and the living can achieve self-determination over their ancestral lands."

In August 2023, a dedicated film centre opened in La Chorrera by the Irish Ambassador to Colombia, Fiona Nic Dhonnacha. The Ambassador was visiting the communities as representative of the Government of Ireland to celebrate the resilience of the Bora, Muinane, Okaina and Uitoto peoples and to mark our historic connections on the anniversary of Roger Casement’s death.

            Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin T.D. said: “I welcome the efforts by University of Galway to support the Bora, Muinane, Okaina, and Uitoto communities of the Predio Putumayo to map their territories. This will help to support their capacity for self-governance, as well as their efforts to restore the historical memory of their ancestors, whose exploitation Roger Casement helped to bring to global attention, something I was very interested to hear about on my recent trip to Colombia in January.

“The Irish Government recognises that the communities also play a critical role in the protection and sustainability of this Amazon region, and the mapping of their territory will support this work into the future. We look forward to participating in COP16 on biodiversity in Colombia in October, where we will have an opportunity to discuss these and other topics of importance under the theme ‘Peace with Nature’.” 

Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, University of Galway President, said: “At University of Galway, we pride ourselves on our values of respect, excellence, openness and sustainability, and the indigenous peoples in the Predio Putumayo deserve our respect, not just in telling their story and the stories of those who died during the rubber boom, but also as custodians for the Amazon ecosystem and its biodiversity, which they have lived in harmony with for centuries. The knowledge, sustainable use and protection of the forests by indigenous communities is one of the main reasons the Amazon still exists. Here we know displacement and dispossession: we are privileged to be in a position to support the Predio Putumayo communities to document their ancestral history and assist them to zone their territories to protect their cultures and prioritise environmental protection for future generations.”

The Bora, Muinane, Okaina and Uitoto peoples in the Predio Putumayo are also seeking support for the urgent task of the mapping of their traditional territories to secure their land rights and self-determination.

A research project is due to begin in 2025 with the support of the Discipline of Geography at University of Galway for the peoples to be trained to use GIS and GPS technologies to map their lands.

Pádraic Mac Donnacha, a Master’s in Coastal and Marine Environments student with the Discipline of Geography, University of Galway, travelled with Dr Tobin to the region to initiate the project.

Mr Mac Donnacha said: “Our primary objective is to provide the equipment and training to empower Indigenous communities in Predio Putumayo to carry out their own, independent mapping, using state-of-the-art GIS technologies. This effort is crucial for safeguarding their rights to lands, the protection of their forests and cultural heritage.”

The indigenous mapping project also has the support of the Columbian Ministry of Culture and the National Institute for Amazonian Studies.

Ends