thumbnail of Preserving Indigenous Culture: The Cofan in Ecuador
This content has not been digitized. Please contact the contributing organization(s) listed below.
Title
Preserving Indigenous Culture: The Cofan in Ecuador
Producing Organization
WBEZ
Contributing Organization
WBEZ (Chicago, Illinois)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/50-95j9kr50
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/50-95j9kr50).
Description
Description
" Like the Zapara, the Cofn are an indigenous group in Ecuador that have been threatened by colonialists and missionaries. During the 17th century there was 20,000 Cofan. Today, there are only 1,000 left. They live in scattered communities in the jungles of northeastern Ecuador along the Aguarico River . You can access some of the villages by road. But others you need to hike several hours to get to. Like the Zapara, the Cofn 's most recent struggle has been with oil companies. In 1966, Texaco struck oil on their land. As oil production stepped up, traditional Cofan territory was taken over by the government for oil drilling, and jungle was cut down to make room for oil rigs. Hugo Lucitante is a student in Ecuador . He's a member of the Cofan community of Zabolo. And Felipe Borman is also from the Cofn community of Zabalo. He is the son of Randy Borman, a Cofn activist and director of the Cofn Survival Fund based in Quito , Ecuador . Both Hugo and Felipe are working on the Cofn Historical Mapping Project at the Field Museum in Chicago . In the 1980s, the Cofan began fighting to get their land back from the government and oil companies. "
Media type
Sound
Credits
: WBEZ
Editor: Sam Stalling
Producing Organization: WBEZ
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ-FM) and Vocalo.org
Identifier: (unknown)
Format: audio/mpeg
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “Preserving Indigenous Culture: The Cofan in Ecuador,” WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 16, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-95j9kr50.
MLA: “Preserving Indigenous Culture: The Cofan in Ecuador.” WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 16, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-95j9kr50>.
APA: Preserving Indigenous Culture: The Cofan in Ecuador. Boston, MA: WBEZ, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-50-95j9kr50