Armando Umirez (traditional name: Jan+fo) is one of the last Muinane who speaks his Native language fluently, having learned it from his father. Although his mother is from the Bora ethnic group and he currently resides in Uitoto territory, Armando always tries to speak his language with the few relatives who still speak it. Armando extracts bark to weave a matafrío, a task shared between men and women, to extract the juice from the cassava and obtain starch. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

Armando Umirez, from the Muinane ethnic group, with his wife, from the Uitoto ethnic group, and his mother-in-law, from the Bora ethnic group. These ethnic mixtures resulted from forced displacements during the rubber era, a practice that did not occur before. Today, it is common to see families of mixed ethnicities. It is difficult for children to learn three dialects and Spanish. They usually inherit their father’s Native language and learn Spanish. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

Marcelo Buinage, leader of the Uitoto ethnic group, explains that after the genocide, his ethnic group opened its territory to receive survivors of different ethnicities, including some Muinane families like those of Armando. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

The evangelization of the Indigenous communities of the Amazonia in the so-called “Colombia” was one of the main reasons for the compulsory learning of Spanish and the prohibition of Native languages. Through faith and Western education, subsequent generations felt the gap between colonialist culture and their own. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

The use of technology in the Indigenous communities of the Amazonia brought new challenges in the protection of their cultural practices. Learning priorities for young people have changed and the Native language is barely one of them. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

The houses of the last Muinane families are located in Santa María, next to La Chorrera area, in the Amazonas department, in southern “Colombia”. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024

Even now the subsistence of the Muinane depends on harvesting, planting, hunting, and fishing. Photo by: Ryan Cortés, August 19, 2024