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HISTORY OF THE COICA
Our history is like we see life: integral, for it is the life of our peoples with the other beings - plants and animals- which co-inhabit with us the Amazon. While the costal and mountainous regions of the countries of America have been raped by the European conquest and the ongoing colonization by the republican states ensuing, we, the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, have been able to resist with the aid of our spirits, the wisdom of our ancestors and the guidance of our leaders.
Therefore if we speak about history, we cannot reduce it to the form in which westerners see the world: as a chronology of episodes. We understand history as a way to relate to the world. The accumulation of skills and knowledge that the forefathers of our parents have passed on to us and that we pass on to our children.
This section of the Indigenous history is divided into three parts. The first one is the accounts of our peoples. There we find the origin of the world, of the rivers and of ourselves. The second one is dedicated to the history of our organization, which is the history of how the indigenous movement has gained strength in the respective countries. The third part is comprised of what we call historical episodes, where we relate incidents and situations that our peoples have lived through in contact with the invaders and conquerors.
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