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In 1916 6 Arhuacos set off from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta for\u00a0Bogot\u00e1<\/strong>. They walked the entire way from the world’s highest coastal mountain range to the Colombian capital. It took them 6 months to arrive at the Narino Palace to meet with the Colombian president, Jose Vicente Concha, where they demanded recognition and, above all, teachers to allow them to learn Spanish<\/strong>. Their inability to speak the language was allowing settlers in the Sierra Nevada to abuse their power and take advantage of the Arhuacos through debt peonage. Concha listened to their entreaties and promised to send them educators. Little did they know that this would only be the beginning of one of the darkest times in the history of the Arhuaco nation<\/strong> (but more on that below). This October, 100 years after the long march from the heights of the Sierra to the chill of Bogota, a delegation of 100 Arhuacos (elders, men, women and children) arrived once more in the capital to commemorate 100 years of Arhuaco diplomacy and stage a peace march on the capitol to reaffirm their centuries long commitment to peace and tranquility<\/strong>. I attended both the march and the related conference that was held at Rosario University over the following two days, and was privileged to have the rare chance to learn firsthand from some of the most spiritual and knowledgeable people on earth, and discover sides to their history that I had never heard before.<\/strong><\/p>\n The march itself was delayed by issues with the flight from the Sierra, and the main group of delegates arrived a couple of hours late, which meant that they were forced to cancel their scheduled meeting with the President.<\/strong> Once they arrived at the Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliacion\u00a0<\/em>the march began. Over 100 Arhuacos, joined by a few hundred people marching in solidarity, marched from the\u00a0Centro <\/em>along the\u00a0septima\u00a0<\/em>before arriving at the Plaza de Bolivar, where there were speeches, songs and dancing<\/strong>. The conference took place over two days in a lecture hall at Rosario University, and was attended by the group of Arhuacos, guest lecturers and speakers from other indigenous groups, and special guest such as Sergio Jaramillo, one of the main peace negotiators with the FARC in Havana<\/strong>. The topics ranged from the history of\u00a0indigenous political participation in Colombia, women’s roles in Arhuaco society, weaving and it’s significance in Arhuaco culture, as well as the history of the march itself and the consequences it would have on Arhuaco culture.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n