World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

Profile

One of the smallest indigenous groups in Venezuela, the Yabarana live along the Paracito River in the southern part of the country.

Historical context

Yabarana have occupied southern Venezuela since the eighteenth century when their numbers were decimated by the poor conditions under which they worked for rubber tappers.

Current issues

Yabarana are threatened by cattle ranching and tourism. Their gardens have been invaded by cattle and they have been forbidden to hunt in land allocated for tourism. To gain legal title to their lands they established the Yabarana Organization of the River Paracito. Still, the Yabarana are very close to extinction if not yet extinct. In the 2001 census, not one person identified as Yabarana; however, 629 people identified as ‘other' indigenous groups.

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