Doble nacionalidad para indígenas de frontera: ¿Protección del patrimonio inmaterial? Doble nacionalidad para indígenas de frontera: ¿Protección del patrimonio inmaterial?

Abstract

The paper analyses how the legal and political recognition made by states in benefit of indigenous people that inhabit the borderlands can be seen as a way to protect the intangible heritage. To do that, I review the recognition of the dual citizenship of indigenous people that share the borderland of Colombia and its neighboring countries, to suggest that, more than a policy to attend everyday matters, the dual citizenship is indeed an effort by the states to protect the cultural heritage, through the preservation of the indigenous people’s culture, their traditions, the ancestrality of their territories and the multiculturality they represent. After examining the context of the importance of the intangible heritage and a theoretical review, I present the advances achieved regarding the concession of the dual citizenship to the indigenous people that inhabit the borderlands and who were fragmented by the establishing of the political borders of Colombia and Ecuador. Finally, I highlight some conclusions on the advantages to both the states and the indigenous people when the cultural heritage approach is included in these actions.