HELP THE NUKAK
HISTORICAL PROBLEMS
Ever since we became aware of the Nukak in 1988 we have unknowingly and carelessly interfered with their culture, causing many problems for their population. Of all the problems the Nukak have faced since our first moments of contact, coca plantations by the FARC and diseases we introduced had the highest impact on their culture and the roots of these problems are still seen in the problems the Nukak face today.
THE FARC
The FARC are the oldest group of Colombia's rebels and are one of the richest guerrilla armies in the world. Most of their money has come from coca plantations. They were founded in 1964 in attempts to install a Marxist government in Colombia (“Profiles: Colombia’s Armed Groups”). In 1982, the FARC, or the revolutionary armed forces of Colombia, started protecting farmers growing coca, the shrub for cocaine, in return for a 10% commission of income. This was done to raise money for their campaign. However in 1997, President Uribe and Colombia’s military forces drove the FARC southeast away from metropolitan areas. This pushed them towards the Amazon Basin where the Nukak live. There, FARC then started producing cocaine independently. Eventually in the early 2000s, the FARC invaded the Nukak’s land because of a coca abundance(Otis).
