Recognition of ancestral knowledge

In the last few weeks, a conversation has been opened in Colombia about the recognition of traditional knowledge holders in the health reform that is currently under construction. As an organization that has been working for the strengthening and articulation of intercultural health processes for 12 years, it seems pertinent to us that these discussions should be opened, as they not only allow us to question historical structures that are not very inclusive, but also broaden the knowledge and recognition of ancestral cosmovisions at a national level.

Ancestral medicine translates into all the knowledge and practices of health and wellness that ethnic peoples have historically developed as a result of their cosmovisions and laws of origin. All this knowledge has been transferred from generation to generation through cultural processes and is essential for the survival of individuals and communities.

The recognition of and, above all, the articulation with ancestral knowledgeable people is fundamental for the development of processes and models based on interculturality and respect for diversity, especially in a country like Colombia where 9.3% of the population is self-recognized as black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquera and 4.4% as indigenous. In addition, having intercultural models contributes to the sovereignty of indigenous peoples who have configured their own systems of territorial governance, justice, education and health.

There are different regulations that encourage the recognition of ancestral knowledge and the self-determination of indigenous peoples. The International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights (ICESCR) of the United Nations in 1966, refers to the right to health, in particular the right to health with collective implications and interculturality as a fundamental mechanism for the survival of ethnically differentiated populations.

Likewise, ILO Convention 169, ratified by Law 21 of 1991, recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to health services appropriate to their sociocultural characteristics and under their responsibility and control; since then, a wide range of regulations have been generated in Colombia on the autonomy of the indigenous population such as Law 691/2001, Decree 1973/2013 that creates the Health Subcommission of the Permanent Roundtable of Concertation with Indigenous Peoples and Organizations, Decree 1953/2014 recognized as the autonomous law of the indigenous peoples as it recognizes them the need to manage their own systems as a transitional measure until the issuance of the law in accordance with Article 329 of the Colombian Political Constitution.

This long journey also finds the resolution 050/2021 that allows the adoption of the indigenous chapter in the Ten-Year Health Plan 2022-2031, which aims to build joint learning mechanisms and strengthen the recognition of traditional knowledge and practices for a comprehensive approach to health.

Beginning to identify the importance of this conversation on the recognition of and respect for cultural diversity also contributes to strengthening the sovereignty of indigenous peoples and their effective exercise of governance based on relations with the environment and the influence they have on individual, family, community and territorial health. There are several processes of consolidation of their own systems and models that continue to be developed by indigenous organizations and it is also essential that institutions and governments promote spaces of articulation and guarantee access to services with an intercultural approach, thus materializing the purpose of an Intercultural Indigenous Health System, SISPI.

Some of the intercultural health processes of indigenous communities in Vaupés that Sinergias has accompanied in recent years have been characterized by the strengthening of local capacities and the recognition of local knowledge: the adaptation of food guides based on cultural and geographic contexts; the development of health planning tools such as the Indigenous Life Plan and the Indigenous and Intercultural Health System (SISPI); or the proposals of articulation with traditional doctors and indigenous health personnel in alliance with the local hospital.

To learn about similar processes and understand a little more about the intercultural health model, we invite you to consult the virtual exhibition of the Museum of Human Ecology.