Country: Venezuela

Group: Pume

Date Finalized: 4/11/2020

Team: Johanna McCombs (lead), Leilani Alva, Maya Shrikant

The Pumé of Venezuela are an indigenous group, sometimes divided into River Pumé and Savanna Pumé, that rely on a mixture of foraging and horticulture, with activities like hunting, fishing and manioc cultivation (Gatehouse, 2019). The Pume are trying to preserve their land that is essential to their livelihood and their culture. Past and current missions in the region have attempted to convert people in the region to Christianity, which involves banning events like traditional evening dances (Pei-Lin & Greaves, 2003). About 90% of the Pume do not have official documentation of their land ownership, and this becomes a problem when the Venezuelan government attempts to develop national parks in their territory (Greaves & Dill, 2003). In these parks only certain people are allowed to practice ‘traditional’ practices which have no clear definition (Greaves & Dill, 2003). The land is also threatened by illegal mining and armed groups, and when the Pume protest they are met with violent reactions (WGIAUAMV, 2015). Data Quality: 3, There are multiple cultural support groups that work with the Pume and provide information on their past and current position in Venezuela in the sources we used.

Sources

  1. Gatehouse, M. (2019, June 21). Pume. Retrieved March 15, 2020, from https://lab.org.uk/pume/.
  2. Greaves, R., & Dill, A. (2003, June 1). Pumé Staking a Claim in Venezuela: Pumé Project. Retrieved from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/pume-staking-claim-venezuela-pume-project
  3. Pei-Lin, Y., Greaves R.D (1999) Into the Life of the Nation: Use and Self-Determination among Traditional Pume Hunter-Gatherers in Venezuela. Cultural Survival Quarterly. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/life-nation-use-and-self-determination-among-traditional
  4. Working Group on Indigenous Affairs of the University of the Andes in Merida, Venezuela (WGIAUAMV) (2015). ‘Silent genocide’ of indigenous peoples denounced in Venezuela | Forest Peoples Programme. Retrieved March 27, 2020, from http://www.forestpeoples.org/en/topics/economic-social-cultural-rights/news/2015/10/silent-genocide-indigenous-peoples-denounced-ven