André Cognat was born on 21 February 1938 in Pierre-Bénite near Lyon, in metropolitan France.

[1] Cognat decided to stay there, and he married a Wayana woman called Alasawani in 1973; they had a son and a daughter.

[1] He also founded a new settlement called Antecume Pata,[2] and he became the chief of the local Wayana tribe.

[1] Cognat founded Yepe, a non-profit organization to protect the rights of the Wayanas, in 1990.

Cognat died on 15 October 2021 at the age of 83 at his home in Antecume Pata, French Guiana, France.