AbstractThis article analyses the co-occurrence of two concerns often expressed by indigenous leaders involved with reparations for victims of paramilitaries in Colombia. These concerns revolve around discomfort with the intense use of hegemonic 'gender' discourses in the context of the reparations, and a feeling that leaders' involvement in the latter brings about a betrayal of the family and of themselves. By engaging with the local category of eirruku (flesh), I argue that ways of engaging women in reparations entail the commoditisation of caring relationships. This article, based on 13 months of fieldwork with an indigenous organisation and the communities integrated into it between 2007 and 2008, contributes to the understanding of the articulation of gender and ethnic/racial identification in the context of contemporary forms of governance of indigenous peoples, while delving into 'carnality' as a concept to understand gendered forms of reproduction, reparation and selfhood.Keywords: Genderindigenous peoplessocial policyhuman rightsLatin AmericaView correction statement:Erratum AcknowledgmentsThe article was possible thanks to the support of the Programme Alβan, the European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America, Scholarship No. E06D100843CO. I am grateful for the comments and suggestions made by Professor Peter Wade and Professor John Gledhill on different versions of this text. The two anonymous reviews of Ethnos were key to strengthen my argument – thanks. It goes without saying that only I am responsible for the views expressed in this article.Notes1 The critical analysis of the concept of biopolitics is enormous. Reviewing such scholar literature is beyond the scope of this article. For a start, the concept has been partly reworked by philosophers such as Agamben (Citation1998) and Hart and Negri (Citation2004). Besides Foucault's own works, a good introduction to the concept diverse formulations is Lemke (Citation2011).2 Revising the vast production of literature on multiculturalism in Latin America is beyond the scope of this article. For analysis that focuses on multiculturalism as a strategy to create governable territories and populations, see Gros (Citation1997), Hale (Citation2004) and Plant (Citation2002). There has been quite a robust academic reflection on the tensions arising from indigenous and national identities raised by multicultural policies (Cojti Cuxili, Citation1997; Stephen, Citation1997; Warren, Citation1998). Self-determination has been an important pivot of mobilisation and academic reflections revolving around multiculturalism, and has raised important issues regarding the extent to which claims of special ethnic rights are authentic (Warren, Citation2001). The latter has brought great public attention to the issue, which has been echoed in academic debates (Conklin, Citation1997; Graham, Citation2002; Turner, Citation2002).3 The funds of the National Commission of Reparation and Reconciliation are managed by a governmental agency called Acción Social (Decree 4760 of 2005), which is funded by the National Treasury, international loans and cooperation and the revenues of auctioned property expropriated from warlords and paramilitaries. According to the Director of the Commission, in December 2009 alone, US$10 million (£6.5 million) was distributed among the victims. According to the same functionary, speaking in late 2009, US$150 million (£100 million) would be distributed in 2010 ('Disponibles Fondos para Reparación de Víctimas en Colombia' in Semana, 14 September 2009).4 Some names have been changed in order to preserve the integrity of collaborators in my research.5 CCT programmes have become a generalized option to tackle 'exclusion' in Latin America (other examples include Bolsa Familia in Brazil and Oportunidades in Mexico). Broadly speaking, they consist of a monetary subsidy given to women based on their number of children below a certain age, oriented towards education and nutritional expenses. Provided that the correct allocation of the subsidy is demonstrated by welfare bodies, the continuity of the programme is granted.6 Interview with Asteria Iguarán (FA Officer, Maicao), 7 July 2008, Maicao.7 Interview with Juan Pushaina (araura'yu, ranchería Wamayau), 30 May 2008, Maicao.8 Men do participate in mediation, but mainly in the form of arbiters of conflicts, and only acting as third parties (Guerra Curvelo Citation2002).