Introduction

Whipping and jailing: The Kapuria jail, indigenous self-government and the hybridization of punishment in Colombia

“…This telling example of hybridity in punishment , where indigenous and state authorities interact to punish indigenous people through a combination of indigenous and state laws, institutions, and practices, is a common trend in different postcolonial countries with indigenous populations, that is, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia (Anthony and Blagg, 2019; Blagg and Anthony, 2019; Cunneen, 2014; Grant, 2018; Struthers Montford and Moore, 2018). In these countries, as with Kapuria jail, the state’s prison spaces, environments, and activities have been adapted to meet the cultural needs of indigenous people (Ariza and Zambrano, 2013; Grant, 2018: 873). In 2013, the Nasa people of Colombia likewise took a significant step toward hybridization, through the spatial and symbolic expansion of the jail of the White men in the indigenous jurisdiction, via the construction of the first indigenous prison within their ancestral territory, run by indigenous authorities, with the support of the Colombian state.…”

“…Second, most of the studies on the punishment of indigenous peoples and the hybridization of punishment in postcolonial societies have focused on countries that overcame British rule—mainly the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (Blagg and Anthony, 2019; Cunneen, 2014; Grant, 2018; Struthers Montford and Moore, 2018). Less research has been undertaken on Latin American countries, formerly subjected to Spanish and Portuguese rule.…”

“…In another development, some indigenous authorities are bringing the Kapuria jail to their ancestral territories with the support of the Colombian state. In 2013, the Nasa community, in Cauca, south-west of Colombia, reached an agreement with the Ministry of Justice to build the first Centro de Armonización (Harmonization Center), something akin to the Healing Lodges in Canada (Grant, 2018; Struthers Montford and Moore, 2018). This punitive dispositive came about after a Constitutional Court’s ruling, 18 which recognized the right of indigenous authorities to claim jurisdiction over the execution of punishment, within their territory, of members of their community serving sentences in state prisons.…”