'Transform our culture': Tribal community shifts to female leadership

Thursday, July 12, 2018  

An indigenous community in Colombia is now led entirely by women, Public Radio International reports.

Jorge Uriana used to lead the Wayuu community in Albania. Then his wife, Neris, was chosen as chief, and for a reason, he told PRI.

"We wanted to turn the way things were on its head. We wanted women to use their way of dialogue to resolve our conflicts, and we wanted to transform our culture,” Uriana told PRI.

After Neris Uriana became chief in 2005, more women have come forward to help out in the community. They started an agricultural initiative that generates revenues for the tribe, PRI reported.

“Wayuu women, in particular, are very close to nature,” Neris Uriana told PRI. “So, we have started using this spiritual bond to enable to Earth to feed us.”

The Wayuu people live on 10 reservations in a remote area of northeastern Colombia. They represent 48 percent of the population in the Department of La Guajira, according to Wikipedia. In terms of numbers, they are the largest indigenous group in Colombia.

Wayuu people also live in neighboring Venezuela. They are the largest segment of the indigenous population in that country as well, according to Wikipedia.

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This Indigenous tribe in Colombia is run solely by women (Public Radio International July 10, 2018)