The Tule are one of several Indigenous Peoples in Colombia who are at risk of extinction. There are fewer more than 1,200 left today in the reservations Caimán Nuevo in Antioquia and Arquía in north-western Colombia.

A matriarchal society, The Tule have faced considerable hardship in recent years due to the abundance of minerals, timber, and other ‘natural resources’ on their territory, which sits on the border with Panama. These riches have attracted the attention of criminal and illegal armed groups over the past decade.

Many Tule have sought refuge in Panama or elsewhere in Choco; however, a determined few, believing that they would not survive if they parted from their ancestral lands, have decided to stay.