Although he is only 21, Camilo Yoge has seen his indigenous tribe lose its culture, territory and traditions. Yoge, a member of the Cofan tribe, has seen farmers, ranchers and oilmen invade his ancestral lands to plant illegal coca crops, raise cattle and search for oil. He has seen many young Cofan take to wearing Western-style clothes, listening to popular music and abandoning their native language for Spanish.

'We're losing out traditional dress, our environment,' lamented Yoge, who is studying to become a taita, or shaman. 'We are no longer free in our own territory.'

To help the Cofan, who number only about 2,600 people between Colombia and Ecuador, preserve their traditions, the Colombian government last month created the Orito Ingi-Ande Medicinal Plants Sanctuary to protect the plants the Cofan depend on for medicinal and spiritual purposes.