The subject of this paper is the field of tension and conflict between higher education and interculturality seen through the relationship between the public Universidad del Cauca, and the Univerisdad Autonoma Indigena Intercultural which is looking for the license from Ministerio de Educacion, both based in Departamento del Cauca, Colombia. This relationship is studied from three aspects: the role of the institutions in the public policy, the interpretation of the concept of interculturality, and the significance each institution gives to the indigenous knowledge.