Abstract proposal for the 2005 conference "New Voices in Indigenous Research."

Name of the presenter: Gabriel Arboleda, SMArchS, Arquitecto.

From the longhouse to the steel house: some reflections on change in Ecuadorian Amazon Secoya structures.

This paper explores the transformation in the building structures of the Ecuadorian Amazon Secoya or Sieco_pai, 'people in many colors.' The Ecuadorian Secoya community consists of approximately 400 people living in the Northeastern corner of the country. Most of the population is concentrated in three small settlements by the Aguarico River, one of the main water sources at the head of the Amazon. Over the past ten years the Secoya have undergone a particularly accelerated and quite evident process of 'westernization,' which has been occurring concomitantly with famous disputes and negotiations they have had with oil companies like Texaco Inc. and Occidental Petroleum Company. The most visible expression of change is the almost complete disappearance of their traditional building epitomized by the communitarian longhouse or Tui'que Hu‘'e, and the wholesale adoption of living in tiny individual steel-roofed houses.

This paper analyzes the forces that triggered this change, and details the consequences and lessons we can learn from it. It concludes that, whereas change in fact was probably unavoidable, it is important to reflect on the Secoya case because it speaks to elements crucial in today's discussions on environment, society and culture. At an environmental level, it reveals myths and expectations that popular culture holds dear regarding how sustainability operates in traditional communities. At a cultural level, it makes evident that the disappearance of the most visible expressions of a community does not necessarily mean the culture of the group has completely changed. At a social level however, it shows that disappearance of cultural artifacts can operate as a warning for deeper and more substantial societal change.

Bio

Gabriel Arboleda is a Colombian architect whose main professional interest is socially sustainable architecture. His work ranges from alternative technology to participatory planning projects in Latin America and South East Asia. It was during an intense five-year practice in Ecuador with Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities that Gabriel had the opportunity to work with the Upper Amazonian Secoya community (Sieco_pai), as a building consultant for a natural preservation project. That was a crucial time in Secoya history, since in 1997 they were being pushed by Occidental Petroleum Company negotiators into signing an agreement that would allow oil exploration on their territory. At the same time, environmentalists were pushing them not to sign. Their decision to sign the agreement dramatically accelerated a process of change in their outermost cultural expressions such as architecture and dress, and began to also affect aspects of social organization in the group. As a witness of that process during that time, Gabriel held significant conversations with Secoya builders while working with them. Those conversations were documented along with field notes, photographs, and models of the changing building structures. In 2004 he developed his master thesis at MIT on change and socio-environmental issues in traditional architecture, using some of this material as evidence. He continues doing research as he considers his thesis a draft on a very complex topic, as is that of sustainability and change in traditional communities. He expects to contribute to this topic by providing facts and analysis derived from his field experience, and looks forward to receiving feedback from participants of the 2005 AIGP conference.