“This is our own place and we are telling you. Not just today, but for 500 years! What are you doing here?”

Mama Jose Luis (mah-mah hoh-zay loo-ees)

Kogi spiritual leader

IMAGE SOURCE: Frame grab. Documentary film, “Aluna,”  Produced by the Kogi w/ Alan Ereira. 2011 | QUOTE SOURCE: Documentary film, “Aluna,” Produced by the Kogi w/ Alan Ereira. 2011

IMAGE SOURCE: Frame grab. Documentary film, “Aluna,”  Produced by the Kogi w/ Alan Ereira. 2011 | QUOTE SOURCE: Documentary film, “Aluna,” Produced by the Kogi w/ Alan Ereira. 2011

QUOTE CONTEXT: A Colombian government official shows a map and says, “There are no indigenous sites here.” Mama Jose Luis responds, “ It's you who doesn't know.”

QUOTE QUESTION: Who might say this today about the place where you live?


IMAGE CONTEXT: Mama Jose Luis is  shown surrounded by other Kogis as he confronts the government official who claims that there are no sacred sites where the government is building a port for the mining industry.

IMAGE QUESTION: Who surrounds you when you speak truth to power?


MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote and frame grab are from a documentary film made by the Kogi in collaboration with non-Kogi allies.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: Who can you rely on to support your efforts to publicly defend your land?


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“The Mother is the owner of everything - all the rivers, all the mountains. Without women, daughters, who would guard all of this?”

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“The earth is a living body. Damaging certain places damages the whole body.”