Indigenous-Led Education in Cauca, Colombia: Land, Language, and Cultural Identity; Thirty Years of Establishing an Educación Propia

In the summer of 2014, I traveled to Colombia with a group of ten students who were enrolled in the summer course "Indigenous and Human Rights in Latin America" at the University of Winnipeg.The course included a field trip section in Colombia, with partners from the University of Cartagena and the Autonomous Indigenous Intercultural University (UAIIN in Spanish).In addition to lectures with leaders, academics, and members of NGOs concerned with human and Indigenous rights, activities included visits to communities displaced or affected by the internal armed conflict.The expectations of the trip were enormous because that year, the Colombian government and the guerrilla group (Revolutionary Colombian Armed Forces -FARC in Spanish) were assembling in La Habana to develop a peace negotiation accord.Two years later, negotiations between both parties were concluded with the signing of a peace agreement.When we visited the UAIIN, the students were amazed by the work of this Indigenous institution of postsecondary education operating independently of the national and provincial governments.Questions about the origin of this initiative and the reasons for an Indigenous organization to establish a university by itself emerged.UAIIN staff members and leaders of the Indigenous Regional Council of Cauca (CRIC in Spanish) provided information in classrooms and informal conversations to the group.UAINN instructors and students shared their experiences as well.The students wanted to know more about this educational experience that began with the creation of CRIC in the seventies.In answering, the

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